Carmel Bay State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) is a

marine protected area Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, 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 activity for a conse ...

Carmel Bay Carmel Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, along the central coast of California in Monterey County. The bay is long and wide with its mouth about across, between Point Carmel to the south and Point Cypress to the north; Monterey Bay is about f ...

. Carmel Bay is adjacent to the city of

Carmel-by-the-Sea Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and r ...

and is near

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...

, on

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

’s central coast. The marine protected area covers 2.12 square miles. Recreational fishing of finfish and limited commercial taking of

kelp Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "underwa ...

is permitted within the SMCA.

History

The Carmel Bay SMCA was established in September 2007 by the California Fish and Game Commission. It was one of 29 marine protected areas adopted during the first phase of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative. The Marine Life Protection Act Initiative (or MLPAI) is a collaborative public process to create a statewide network of marine protected areas along the California coastline. The Carmel Bay SMCA encourages recreational fishing opportunities in an area close to a nearby port by precluding commercial extraction or take of invertebrates throughout the Bay but allowing sport fishing for finfish from shore, kayak, or boat.

Geography and natural features

Carmel Bay (SMCA) is near

Carmel Pinnacles State Marine Reserve Carmel Pinnacles State Marine Reserve (SMR) is a marine protected area in Carmel Bay including a unique underwater pinnacle formation with adjacent kelp forest, submarine canyon head, and surfgrass. Carmel Bay is adjacent to the city of Carmel-b ...

Point Lobos State Marine Reserve Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

and Point Lobos State Marine Conservation Area. On opposite sides of Carmel Bay are the only two extant stands of

Monterey Cypress ''Hesperocyparis macrocarpa'' is a coniferous tree. It is commonly known as the Monterey cypress and is one of several species of cypress trees endemic to California. The Monterey cypress is found naturally only on the Central Coast of Califor ...

, '' Cupressus macrocarpa''. This marine protected area is bounded by the mean high tide line and straight lines connecting the following points in the order listed: * 36° 33.65’ N. lat. 121° 57.10’ W. long.; * 36° 31.70’ N. lat. 121° 56.30’ W. long.; and * 36° 31.70’ N. lat. 121° 55.55’ W. long.

Habitat and wildlife

Habitats protected by Carmel Bay SMCA include

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 Ea ...

, sandy beach, submarine canyon head, and surfgrass.

Recreation and nearby attractions

Carmel Bay is a tourism and ocean recreation destination. Divers and kayakers are attracted to its unique pinnacle formations, granite reefs and kelp forests. Carmel-By-The-Sea also features an iconic white sand beach. In nearby Monterey, the

Monterey Bay Aquarium Monterey Bay Aquarium is a 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 October 1984. Its biologists ...

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

sea turtle 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, loggerhe ...

s. 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 The Channel Islands () are an eight-island archipelago located within the Southern California Bight in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California. The four Northern Channel Islands are part of the Transverse Ranges geologic province, and ...

have already detected gradual improvements in fish size and number.Castell, Jenn, et al.
How do patterns of abundance and size structure differ between fished and unfished waters in the Channel Islands? Results from SCUBA surveys
". Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) at University of California, Santa Barbara and University of California, Santa Cruz; Channel Islands National Park. Retrieved December 18, 2008.

References

External links

California's MPAsMarine Life Protection Act InitiativeCalOceansCarmel-By-The-SeaMonterey Bay Aquarium
{{authority control Marine sanctuaries in California Carmel-by-the-Sea, California California Department of Fish and Wildlife areas California State Reserves Protected areas of Monterey County, California 2007 establishments in California Protected areas established in 2007