Carmel Bay State Marine Conservation Area

Carmel Bay

Carmel Bay State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) is a marine protected area in Carmel Bay established in September 2007. The  area covers 2.12 square miles. This designation allows some recreational and/or commercial take of marine resource.

MARINE LIFE PROTECTION ACT of 2004
(c) Coastal development, water pollution,and other human activities threaten the health of marine habitat and the biological diversity found in California's ocean waters. New technologies and demands have encouraged the expansion of fishing and other activities to formerly inaccessible marine areas that once recharged nearby fisheries. As a result, ecosystems throughout the state's ocean waters are being altered, often at a rapid rate.
(g) Despite the demonstrated value of marine life reserves, only 14 of the 220,000 square miles of combined state and federal ocean water off California, or six-thousandths of 1 percent, are set aside as genuine no take areas.
Carmel Bay State Marine Conservation Area
MARINE LIFE PROTECTION ACT of 2004