Asilomar State Marine Reserve (SMR) is one of four small

marine protected areas A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuary, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human ...

(MPAs) located near the cities of

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

and Pacific Grove, at the southern end of

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by about 75 miles (120 km), accessible via California S ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

’s central coast. The four MPAs together encompass . The SMR protects all marine life within its boundaries. Fishing and take of all living marine resources is prohibited.

History

The Asilomar State Marine Reserve was established in September 2007 by the

California Department of Fish and Game The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is an American state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages ...

. It was one of 29 marine protected areas adopted during the first phase of the

Marine Life Protection Act The Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) was passed in 1999 and is part of the California Fish and Game Code. The MLPA requires California to reevaluate all existing marine protected areas (MPAs) and potentially design new MPAs that together form ...

Initiative, which created a statewide network of marine protected areas along the California coastline. The reserve helps protect some of the central coast's most heavily used and accessible areas near the shore while leaving most of the coastal waters open for continued fishing.

Geography and natural features

Asilomar SMR is located off the coast of the

Monterey Peninsula The Monterey Peninsula anchors the northern portion on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California and comprises the cities of Monterey, California, Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, California, P ...

, at the southern end of Monterey Bay. It covers an area of . The reserve is directly offshore from

Asilomar State Beach Asilomar State Beach, officially Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds State Park, is a state park unit of California, United States. It provides public access to rocky coast and dune habitat on the Monterey Peninsula. The property includ ...

. Asilomar SMR is the westernmost of four marine protected areas bordering the Monterey Peninsula. It is adjacent to the Pacific Grove Marine Gardens State Marine Conservation Area. Further east are the

Lovers Point State Marine Reserve Lovers Point State Marine Reserve (SMR) is one of four small marine protected areas located near the cities of Monterey and Pacific Grove, at the southern end of Monterey Bay on California’s central coast. The four MPAs together encompass . ...

and the

Edward F. Ricketts State Marine Conservation Area Edward F. Ricketts State Marine Conservation Area is one of four small marine protected areas located near the cities of Monterey and Pacific Grove, California, Pacific Grove, at the southern end of Monterey Bay on California’s central coast. ...

. All four areas are included within the

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is a federally protected marine area offshore of California's Big Sur and central coast in the United States. It is one of the largest US national marine sanctuaries and has a shoreline length ...

. This marine protected area is bounded by the mean high tide line and straight lines connecting the following points in the order listed: , and .

Habitat and wildlife

The Monterey Peninsula includes extensive tidepools brimming with life. Its sandy beaches are used by pupping

harbor seals The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared sea ...

, and dense

kelp bed Kelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp, which covers a large part of the world's coastlines. Smaller areas of anchored kelp are called kelp beds. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on E ...

s offshore provide shelter for

sea otters The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel fa ...

. The Asilomar SMR provides habitat for a variety of marine life, and includes

kelp forest Kelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp, which covers a large part of the world's coastlines. Smaller areas of anchored kelp are called kelp beds. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on E ...

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

, rocky

intertidal The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various sp ...

, and soft and hard bottom.

Recreation and nearby attractions

The natural environment and ocean resources of the Monterey Peninsula draw millions of visitors from around the world each year, including more than 60,000

scuba divers Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scuba'' is an acronym for ...

drawn by the area's ease of access, variety of wildlife, and kelp forests The

Monterey Bay Aquarium Monterey Bay Aquarium is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit public aquarium in Monterey, California. Known for its regional focus on the marine habitats of Monterey Bay, it was the first to exhibit a living kelp forest when it opened in Octob ...

is a tourist attraction featuring a living kelp forest. The exhibit includes species native to the nearby marine protected areas. The aquarium also houses sea otters, intertidal wildlife, and occasionally

sea turtles Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

. In addition to diving and visiting the aquarium, visitors to the Monterey Bay engage in kayaking, whale watching, charter fishing, surfing, bird watching, tidepooling and walking on the beach. Asilomar State Beach, adjacent to the reserve, has a .75 mile (1.2 km) walking trail. California's marine protected areas encourage recreational and educational uses of the ocean. Activities such as kayaking, diving, snorkeling, and swimming are allowed unless otherwise restricted.

Scientific monitoring

As specified by the Marine Life Protection Act, select marine protected areas along California's central coast are being monitored by scientists to track their effectiveness and learn more about ocean health. Similar studies in marine protected areas located off of the Santa Barbara Channel Islands have already detected gradual improvements in fish size and number. Local scientific and educational institutions involved in the monitoring include the

Hopkins Marine Station Hopkins Marine Station is the marine laboratory of Stanford University. It is located south of the university's main campus, in Pacific Grove, California (United States) on the Monterey Peninsula, adjacent to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is h ...

(located at the Lovers Point SMR), the

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is a private, non-profit oceanographic research center in Moss Landing, California. MBARI was founded in 1987 by David Packard, and is primarily funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foun ...

(MBARI), and

Moss Landing Marine Laboratories The Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) is a multi-campus marine research consortium of the California State University System, headquartered at Moss Landing, California. Organization Moss Landing Marine Laboratories is part of the Califor ...

. Research methods include hook-and-line sampling, scuba diver surveys, and the use of

Remote Operated Vehicle A remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROUV) or remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is a free-swimming submersible craft used to perform underwater observation, inspection and physical tasks such as valve operations, hydraulic functions and other ge ...

(ROV) submarines.

References

External links

California's MPAsAsilomar State BeachPartnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO)
{{authority control Marine sanctuaries in California Monterey Bay California Department of Fish and Wildlife areas Protected areas of Monterey County, California Culture of Monterey, California Pacific Grove, California 2007 establishments in California Protected areas established in 2007