One of the marine protected areas off La Jolla has been identified as “one of the most poached MPAs in California,” according to Del Mar-based ocean conservation group Wildcoast.
Wildcoast California Conservation Manager Lillie Mulligan gave a presentation at the Jan. 26 La Jolla Parks & Beaches meeting about the status of MPAs and strategies intended to protect the marine creatures that live in them.
The presentation was an information-only item on the agenda, and the board took no action.
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According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a marine protected area is a region designated and managed for long-term conservation of marine resources, ecosystems and/or cultural heritage. In many of those areas, fishing and disturbing or taking wildlife is limited or prohibited.
Mulligan said MPAs “are like a 401-k” in that “you have to set aside a little bit now but we’ll see benefits in the future.”
La Jolla has four MPAs: the Matlahuayl State Marine Reserve near La Jolla Cove, the San Diego-Scripps Coastal State Marine Conservation Area just north of Matlahuayl off La Jolla Shores, and the South La Jolla State Marine Reserve and the South La Jolla State Marine Conservation Area off Bird Rock. They were established in 2012.
Mulligan some people still fish in those areas, “some on accident, some on purpose.”
Wildcoast participates in a program called MPA Watch, in which volunteers patrol the areas and monitor what people are doing there.
“It’s important to know how many people surf at [any particular] spot, how many people fish and how many people fish illegally,” Mulligan said. “That data gets sent to the state so they can better monitor and understand what is happening.”
Equipment — some of it in La Jolla — also is used to monitor MPAs around the clock and record any illegal activity.
Through that equipment, Mulligan said, Wildcoast determined that the South La Jolla State Marine Reserve is one of California’s most poached MPAs based on citations written, let alone incidents of people fishing illegally without getting caught.
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Fines for fishing in or otherwise taking from an MPA can range from a couple of hundred dollars to $40,000, and people who are cited can be given a stay-away order.
To help raise awareness about the MPAs, Mulligan said Wildcoast would replace “quite a few” of the informational signs on land in La Jolla and add new signs when a beach access trail at Princess Street opens. In addition, portable signs are posted when volunteers are onsite.
Anyone who witnesses poaching, polluting or other violations can call 888-334-2258 or text “CALTIP,” followed by a space, to 847411.
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