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Regulatory and Environmental Review Process Documents (Central Coast Study Region)

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New Proposed Regulations

January 2007

At its December 7, 2006 meeting in Santa Monica, the Commission received testimony on the original Initial Statement of Reasons and proposed regulations for changes to Section 632, Title 14, CCR (October 17, 2006, Office of Administrative Law Notice File Number Z06-1031-05) regarding Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The Commission directed the Department to make specific changes and additions to the original proposal. The Department, in preparing the requested changes and reviewing public testimony and written comments, determined other technical changes were necessary to clarify regulations, add consistency to the section as a whole, and to update the regulatory text to satisfy statutory goals and objectives of the Marine Life Protection Act. Based on the significant extent and number of changes to the proposal, the original notice was retracted and a new notice filed including all of the following changes:

  • Clarification that all existing fishing statutes and regulations still apply has been added;
  • The overall structure of subsection 632(b) has been revised;
  • Provisions carried over from previous terrestrial ecological reserve regulations have been eliminated;
  • The options that would authorize fishing in certain times for disabled persons within the Edward F. Ricketts State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) have been modified;
  • Options are provided to potentially allow the continued take of kelp in the Año Nuevo and Cambria state marine reserves (SMRs);
  • Options are provided to potentially allow for commercial take of spot prawn in the Soquel Canyon and Portuguese Ledge SMCAs;
  • A definition of "finfish" is added;
  • Statements are added to clarify that fish are included as "wildlife" and that feeding incidental to permitted scientific or lawful fishing activities is allowed;
  • The addition of scientific names to lists of species allowed in MPAs outside the central coast MPAs has been removed;
  • An allowance for minor incidental catch has been added to SMCAs which allow the take of squid but not other common bycatch species;
  • The terms under which kelp may be harvested within certain MPAs have been clarified and changes made to the commercial kelp harvesting regulations [subsections 165(b) and (c)] to properly cross reference the sections;
  • The boundaries of the Big Creek SMCA and SMR have been adjusted so that all no-take area falls within the SMR;
  • Clarifying improvements to the definitions of some of the boundary areas have been made; and
  • Other minor typographical and editorial changes have been made.

Regulatory Process Documents

California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Process Documents