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Marine
Protected Areas (MPAs)
Through
the Marine
Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative,
Wishtoyo and its VCK program are advocating to best ensure a network
of MPAs are established that protects the ecologically integrity and
the threatened marine wildlife of the Southern California Bight (SCB).
Included in the SCB, are the marine environments that extend through
traditional Chumash territory and Ventura County.
Unique
to Wishtoyo’s and VCK’s advocacy is Wishtoyo’s introduction of
and proposals for Chumash
& Tribal Co-Management of MPAs that
will enhance the effectiveness and implementation of MPA’s, while
resulting in substantial cultural preservation benefits for Chumash
People and other Tribal groups. As the result of Wishtoyo’s efforts,
for the first time, Chumash and Tribal Co-Management of MPAs have been
recommended up and down California’s South Coast in the MLPA Blue
Ribbon Task Force’s Integrated Preferred Alternative (IPA) and in
South Coast Stakeholder Proposals 1 and 3.
Wishtoyo
developed the Chumash and Tribal Co-Management Proposals in close
coordinated with tribal and environmental stakeholders, the California
Department of Fish and Game, California State Parks, MLPAI Staff, and
MLPAI stakeholders.
Click
here to
learn more about Wishtoyo’s Chumash & Tribal MPA Co-Management
Advocacy
The
Need For Ecologically Protective MPAs
The
Southern California Bight (SCB) bioregion, extending from the U.S.
Mexico border to Point Conception in central California, and thus
along Ventura County’s coast, is rich in biodiversity mainly due to
a transition zone in its oceanography that includes the mixing of warm
and cool surface waters, and eight Channel Islands.
It hosts a wide diversity of species, including at least 481
species of fish, 492 species of algae, 4 species of seagrass, 4
species of sea turtles, 195 species of birds, at least 33 species of
cetaceans, 7 species of pinnipeds, and over 5000 species of
invertebrates. Several of these species have special status under
California and/or Federal Endangered Species Act, including white
abalone, tidewater goby, green sea turtles, California Brown Pelicans,
California Least Terns, and Guadalupe fur seals.
Unfortunately, The Southern California Bight
(SCB) bioregion, remains one of the most threatened “hot spots”
for endangered biodiversity in the world. There are two primary
reasons for the degradation of SCB coastal marine ecosystems.
First, the introduction of non-native species influence native
species diversity. Second, the destruction of habitat, such as
wetlands, oak forests, riparian areas, coastal sage scrub and marine
ecosystems continues to threaten native species diversity.
Alone, coastal wetlands, once “nurseries to the sea”, have
declined by 92%.
The loss of this important habitat has led to a general decline in
coastal biodiversity. Additionally, anthropogenic (human-caused)
impacts such as overfishing, pollution, the persistence of legacy
pollutants such as DDT, and urban development are exacerbating the
ability of native species to adapt to turbulent climate and natural
changes in the ecology of southern California.
In the marine environment, recent evidence from marine
scientists shows that overfishing is the primary cause of the decline
in kelp ecosystem health. This
is becoming a common scene throughout the world -- unsustainable use
of coastal marine life continues to have dramatic impact on local
maritime cultures and coastal marine ecosystems. Without the
designation of large-scale MPAs within the State waters of southern
California that adequately protect critical and rich marine habitats,
the future of the Southern California Bight (SCB) is in jeopardy.
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