New and Expanded Marine Protected Areas Headed to Next Stage Following California Fish and Game Commission Vote
The California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) returned to the topic of marine protected area (MPA) petitions at its October meeting, granting seven petition actions to be considered for future rulemaking. Those granted include two tribally led petition actions that propose the creation of new MPAs for Point Sal in San Luis Obispo County and Carpinteria Reef in Santa Barbara County.
Twenty MPA petitions were submitted to the Commission in 2023 following the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) release of its MPA Decadal Management Review; at last week’s meeting, 15 of those petitions remained to be granted or denied by the Commission. Submitted by California tribes and stakeholders, the MPA petitions included more than 80 proposed regulatory and non-regulatory changes to the MPA Network. Proposed changes included adding a tribal take exemption, renaming an MPA, creating new MPAs, expanding boundaries of existing MPAs and changes to take allowances for recreational and/or commercial fisheries in specific MPAs.
In addition to the seven petition actions that were granted, the Commission supported moving four non-regulatory actions forward.
Petition actions granted by the Commission continue to the next stage, which will require completion of California Environmental Quality Act review and consideration through standard rulemaking procedures before they would become effective.
The Commission’s rulemaking process begins with giving public notice of potential regulation changes, with dates set for a discussion hearing that is followed by an adoption hearing.
A summary of the Commission’s decisions and additional information is available online at CDFW’s MPA Management Program Petition StoryMap.
CESA Candidacy
The Commission named veiny monardella and Mount Pinos sooty grouse as candidates for listing under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA).
Veiny monardella is a plant that occurs only in specific areas within Butte and Tuolumne counties; invasive species and agricultural and other land development uses are among the threats affecting the species’ survival and reproduction, according to CDFW’s evaluation report on the petition to list the species under CESA. Information presented in the petition in addition to information from CDFW, including that veiny monardella is no longer found in two areas where it was historically present, indicates population decline.
Mount Pinos sooty grouse is one of California’s three subspecies of grouse. As the subspecies found the furthest south, Mount Pinos sooty grouse is known to historically inhabit the Southern Sierra Nevada from Fresno County south to Kern County as well as mountainous areas of Ventura County. Between 1968 and 2015, abundance of all sooty grouse subspecies declined 57%, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. The Mount Pinos subspecies is no longer found in Ventura County and its population numbers are estimated to be between 2,287 and 13,938.
Threats to Mount Pinos sooty grouse include logging, altered wildfire occurrence and livestock grazing that all contribute to loss of or degradation of habitat.
CDFW will undertake a one-year status review of veiny monardella and Mount Pinos sooty grouse before the Commission can make a final decision on CESA listing.
California Waterfowlers Hall of Fame
Six inductees to the 2026 California Waterfowlers Hall of Fame were honored by the Commission. The California Waterfowlers Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to enhancing waterfowl and their habitats in California. This year’s inductees are Frank Billeci, Yancey Forest Knowles, Virginia Getz, James Cox Kennedy, Michael Mantell and Zane Vorhes. Each was recognized with a Commission resolution.
Harpoons and Flying Gaffs
The Commission voted to adopt regulations allowing the use of harpoons and flying gaffs to assist with catching tuna in the recreational fishery, and gear marking requirements for changes in the commercial swordfish harpoon fishery that will help enforcement officers discern between harpoon buoys and gear used in other commercial fisheries. However, a proposed amendment intended to clarify restrictions on the use of spears to take marlin recreationally was not adopted. Existing prohibitions on possessing spears onboard recreational vessels when marlin have been taken remain in place.
Wild Trout Waters
The Commission designated approximately 29 miles of the West Fork San Gabriel River, including Bear Creek (Los Angeles County), as a Heritage Trout Water and approximately 3 miles of Arroyo Seco upstream of Devil’s Gate Dam (Los Angeles County) as a Wild Trout Water.
The Wild Trout Water designation for approximately 25 miles of Sespe Creek (Ventura County) was removed and the Fall River Complex Wild Trout Water designation was modified by removing Fall River Pond and Fall River Lake (Shasta County);
Designated Wild Trout Waters support self-sustaining populations of non-native or native trout outside of their historic range and provide anglers with an opportunity to catch wild trout in a manner that promotes conservation. A Heritage Trout designation requires a water to sustain a population of native trout within the historic range of the species. Stocking of hatchery origin trout is restricted within designated waters, and angling regulations are intended to allow trout populations to sustain themselves through natural reproduction.
For more information on the Heritage and Wild Trout Waters program and designated bodies of water, visit the Designated Wild and Heritage Trout Waters website.
Meeting Participation and Next Meeting
Commission President Eric Sklar, Vice President Darius Anderson and commissioners Samantha Murray and Erica Zavaleta were in attendance each day of the October Commission meeting. Commissioner Jacque Hostler-Carmesin was in attendance for the first three days of the four-day meeting, which was held in Sacramento.
The complete agenda for the meeting, along with supporting information, is available on the Commission website. Archived video of past Commission meetings is available online. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Commission is scheduled for Dec. 15-16, 2026, at the East End Complex auditorium,1500 Capitol Ave., in Sacramento. Participants are encouraged to attend in person, with options available for Zoom or phone; for more information visit the Commission meetings page.
The Commission authorized public notice of upcoming potential regulation changes related to:
CDFW lands: A discussion hearing is scheduled for the Dec. 15-16 Commission meeting and an adoption hearing for the Feb. 10-11, 2027, meeting regarding a number of proposed amendments to CDFW lands regulations.
White seabass recreational fishery: A discussion hearing is scheduled for the Dec. 15-16 Commission meeting and an adoption hearing Feb. 10-11, 2027, as commissioners consider amending regulations related to the white seabass recreational fishery minimum size limit.
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