|
Action Alerts |
*Santa Monica Baykeeper has issued a public statement on the importance of the new southern Californian Marine Protected Areas, and the role of our program M.P.A. Watch. Please click here to read. And spread the word*
King Tides have arrived in California! King tides are extreme high tide events that occur as the result of the combined gravitational forces of the sun and moon, providing a glimpse of what rising sea levels could look like in the coming years. Take some photos from January 21-22 or February 6-8 and submit them to our statewide King Tides Photo Initiative site. For more information about King Tides, or where to view them, click here.
|
Recent News |
October 22, 2011 |
Dailybreeze.com |
Kelp Forest Restoration Project |
October 26, 2011 |
Santa Monica Patch |
Baykeeper praises Hermosa Beach ban of Styrofoam take out containers |
November 22, 2011 |
Slow Living Radio |
Liz Crosson LIVE discussing Baykeeper projects |
November 29, 2011 |
Los Angeles Times |
Stormwater runoff from La Brea Tar Pits and LA County remediation project |
December 22, 2011 |
The Daily Breeze |
The connection between king tides & sea level rise |
December 31, 2011 |
Los Angeles Times |
Volunteers to help patrol new MPA Watch program |
January 10, 2012 |
Los Angeles Times |
The benefits of MPAs, and the proper role of volunteer watch programs |
|
Calendar |
JOIN US FOR UNDERWATER PARKS DAY!
Saturday, January 21st
In commemoration of the 4th Annual Underwater Parks Day, join Santa Monica Baykeeper at a volunteer training session for our brand new program, MPA Watch. This is a hands on citizen monitoring program on our boat which will gather data to determine the efficacy of our new Marine Protected Areas, as well as provide an opportunity to reach out to the fishing & recreational water-sports communities about the new regulations and benefits of Southern California’s new Underwater Parks. For more information please contact Brian Meux at bmeux@smbaykeeper.org, or call (310) 305-9645 ext. 107.
|
Jobs & Internships |
|
|
Click Here to view and research this data yourself and to see maps of areas proposed for protection.
Aerial Survey Methods
What
- Boat based and aerial surveys used to document the position and disposition of fishing vessels throughout the Southern California Bight to create a fishery independent dataset on the position of fishing vessels in the region.
- Fishing activity, combined with GPS locations is a valuable tool for identifying popular recreational and commercial fishing areas to consider when designing a network of marine protected areas (MPAs).
Where
- The southern California Bight was divided into two sections or transects: Los Angeles north to Point Conception and Los Angeles south to the U.S. Border (mainland only). Each flight covered either the northern or southern transect.
- The locations of all vessels were marked using GPS equipment and by flying directly overhead marine vessels. Vessels recorded were limited to state waters for direct application to the MLPA process.
How
- Aerial surveys recorded the types of boats and their activity in state waters. All boats (commercial fishing, commercial non-fishing and recreational) and their activities (fishing, not fishing, underway and other) are mapped using GPS positioning and GIS mapping techniques. To clarify, commercial non-fishing vessels are those commercial vessels that do not have a fishing purpose, such as a tug boat or oil tender.
- The altitude range flown during each transect was between 500 - 1000 feet above sea level. The relatively low altitude was necessary to identify the vessel type and activity.
When
- The flight dates were randomly selected. Two flights per month were scheduled for weekdays, weekends, and holidays.
- The transects were consistently flown in late morning (10am to 12pm) to allow fog to clear and observation of vessels possible.
- To date we have conducted 10 complete transects (Pt. conception to US/Mexican border).
- All data is scrutinized through Quality Assurance and Quality Control Protocols
- Photographs also used to aid in Quality Assurance
|
