Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Project

Overview of project and Geoprocessing

What is an MPA?

An area set aside for conservation

www.mpa.org

MPA Definition

Federal Definition MPA is a general term for places given special protections

for natural or historic marine resources by local, state, federal or tribal authorities national parks

• wildlife refuges• Monuments• marine sanctuaries• fisheries closures• critical habitat• habitat areas of particular concern• state parks,• conservation areas estuarine reserves and preserves

http://www.mpa.gov/what_is_an_mpa/definition.html

MPA Definition Primary Conservation Goal

Natural Heritage Cultural Heritage Sustainable Production

Level of Protection No Access No Impact No Take Zoned With No-Take Areas Zoned Multiple Use Uniform Multiple Use

Permanence of Protection Permanent Conditional Temporary

http://www.mpa.gov/what_is_an_mpa/definition.html

Constancy of Protection Year-Round Seasonal Rolling

Scale of Protection Ecosystem Focal Resource

Allowed Extractive Activities Commercial Fishing Recreational Fishing Subsistence Hunting/Fishing Scientific/Educational

Collecting Mineral/Energy Extraction Other

Fisheries management tools

Management tools for fisheries Quotas – how many Size limits – how big Gear restrictions – trawling prohibited within

shoreline to 3 mi Time based restrictions Spatially (place) based –

• Rockfish conservation areas• Cowcod conservation areas• Marine protected areas

California's MPAs - Marine Life Management Act

1999 - California State Legislature direct the state to design a network marine protected areas

MPA – six classifications State Marine Reserves

• No take State Marine Park

• Some recreational fishing allowed

State Marine Conservation Areas• Some recreational and

commercial fishing allowed

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/mlma/index.html

California's MPAs - Marine Life Management Act

Central Coast Project (Point Conception to Pigeon Point)

Proposed network of MPAs from Point Conception to Pigeon Point by 2006

Rest of the coast between 2006-2011

Public input critical!

Stakeholders (recreational angling and diving, commercial fishing, ports and harbors, conservation, business ) http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/mlma/index.html

California’s Fisheries

Pacific Fisheries Information Network (PacFin)

Fishery catch reported by the commercial industry

• Landings (lbs)• Species• Year• Location (10 nm

blocks)

http://www.psmfc.org/pacfin/overview.html

Your mission is to select MPAs that consists 1 and 2 contiguous fishing blocks that:

Have a depth equal to or less than 1200 m The bottom substrate is either hard or

mixed Is more than 25 nautical miles from Moss

Landing and Morro Bay Will not heavily impact fishers

New Tools you will use:

Geoprocessing – in ArcTool Box Dissolve Merge Intersect Clip Buffers

Summarizing Tables Joining Tables Model Builder

Merge

Combines input features from multiple input sources (of the same data type) into a single, new, output feature class. The input data sources may be point, line, or polygon feature classes or tables.

Data Management Tools> General > Merge

Intersect This tool builds a new feature class from the

intersecting features common in both feature classes. It retains the attributes of both feature classes.

Analysis Tools> Overlay > Intersect

Clip This tool uses a polygon boundary to cut features

and their attributes from a feature class.

Works like a cookie cutter.

Analysis Tools> Extract > Clip

Buffer

This tool creates a new feature class of buffer polygons around either polygon, line, or point features.

Analysis Tools> Proximity > Buffer

Dissolve

This tool combines like features based on a specified attribute or attributes.

Data Management Tools> Generalization > Dissolve