Marine Protected Areas

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Clear turquoise water over a Laguna reef, seen past coastal wildflowers
Marine Protected Areas · Laguna Beach

Laguna’s Underwater Parks

Just past the waves lies a whole world of kelp forests, bright orange garibaldi, lobsters and sea fans. Here’s how Laguna’s Marine Protected Areas care for it, and why they’re good news for everyone who loves our coast.

Start exploringGood news for anglers
Photo: Kevin Roberts, “Reef Supports Life,” Laguna Bluebelt Photo Contest
The basics

Like a national park, but underwater

A Marine Protected Area, or MPA, is a stretch of ocean set aside so sea life can live, grow up and raise its young in peace. Think of Yosemite, but for kelp forests and tidepools.

California passed the Marine Life Protection Act in 1999 to build a statewide network of these underwater parks. Fishermen, divers, scientists and neighbors spent years drawing the map together, and Southern California’s MPAs took effect on January 1, 2012. Today the network is the first in the world to earn a place on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Green List of the best-managed protected areas.

124protected areas along California’s 1,100-mile coast
9%of state waters in “no-take” areas where nothing is removed
7%of state waters in conservation areas that allow some fishing
2012the year Laguna’s Marine Protected Areas took effect

Three kinds of protection

No takeState Marine Reserve

The strongest protection. Nothing living, and no rocks or shells, may be taken. Laguna’s biggest MPA is a reserve.

No takeNo-Take Conservation Area

Works just like a reserve for visitors: look, enjoy, and leave everything where you found it.

Some fishingState Marine Conservation Area

Some fishing is allowed with a California fishing license, but the rules list exactly what, and tidepools are still off limits for collecting.

Everyone is welcome. The only thing left behind is taking. In Laguna’s no-take areas you can still enjoy almost everything the ocean offers:

SwimmingSurfingSnorkelingScuba divingKayakingPaddleboardingTidepoolingBeach daysPhotography
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Close to home

Laguna’s protected coastline

Since 2012, about 70% of Laguna’s coastline has been fully protected, with no fishing or collecting. But not all of it: south of Table Rock, the reefs at Thousand Steps and Three Arch Bay are still open to fishing. That is the Last Mile we are working to protect. North to south, here is what you’ll find:

NORTHSOUTHCrystal Covesome fishingLaguna Beach State Marine ReserveNo take · 4.4 miles of shoreNo-Take SMCA1.2 milesDana Point Conservation AreaSome fishing · no tidepool collectingAbalone PointGoff IslandTable Rockprotection endsCrescent BayShaw’s CoveHeisler ParkThousand StepsThree Arch BaySalt CreekOC’s largest kelp forestDana Point
Crystal Cove Conservation AreaNorth of Abalone Point · some fishing
Laguna Beach State Marine ReserveAbalone Point to Goff Island · 4.4 miles of shore, 6.72 sq. miles · no take · includes Crescent Bay, Shaw’s Cove and Heisler Park
Laguna Beach No-Take Conservation AreaGoff Island to Table Rock · 1.2 miles of shore, 3.09 sq. miles · no take
Dana Point Conservation AreaTable Rock to Dana Point · some fishing (hook-and-line, spear, lobster, urchin) · no collecting from tidepools

Simplified map, not to scale. For exact boundaries see the CDFW Laguna Beach and Dana Point MPA pages.

Orange, purple and red sea fans on a Laguna reef
The last mile. Just south of Table Rock, the reefs at Thousand Steps and Three Arch Bay sit inside Laguna’s city limits but outside its no-take protection. See what has happened to them →Photo: Lindy Yow, “Fish Bowl at Deadman’s Reef,” Laguna Bluebelt Photo Contest
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How they work

Three simple ideas

Underwater parks work for the same reasons a protected forest grows tall: give living things time and space, and nature does the rest.

1Big fish make many more babies

A fish that gets to grow up doesn’t just get bigger. It produces far more young. A 23½-inch vermilion rockfish produces about 1.7 million young, more than 11 times as many as a 14½-inch fish. Protected areas are where those big, productive parents can live.

Chart: three sizes of vermilion rockfish producing 150,000, 700,000 and 1.7 million young
Graphic: PISCO, The Science of Marine Reserves. Data: Love et al. (1990), NOAA.

2Nature keeps itself in balance

In a kelp forest, lobsters and sheephead eat sea urchins, and urchins eat kelp. When predators are protected, they keep urchins in check and the kelp forest thrives. At Anacapa Island’s reserve, scientists found six times more lobsters, far fewer urchins and five times more kelp than in nearby fished waters.

Reserve versus fished area: more lobsters, fewer urchins and more kelp inside the reserve
Graphic: PISCO, The Science of Marine Reserves. Data: Behrens & Lafferty (2004), Marine Ecology Progress Series.

3Sea life needs time to grow up

Many ocean animals take years to start having young: about 4½ years for a California spiny lobster, and longer for many rockfish. California sheephead can live 50 years or more. Protected areas give them the time they need.

Chart of the age at which selected seaweeds, invertebrates and fishes first reproduce
Graphic: PISCO, The Science of Marine Reserves.
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The results

Do they work? Yes.

Around the world

  • A study of 124 marine reserves in 29 countries found that, on average, the total weight of sea life was 446% higher, animals were 166% more numerous and 28% bigger, and there were 21% more kinds of species inside reserves.
  • At Cabo Pulmo in Baja, where villagers protected their reef, fish biomass grew 463% in ten years, and the town now thrives on diving and ecotourism.

Here in California

  • California’s first ten-year review found fish on nearshore rocky reefs were bigger and more abundant inside MPAs, true for more than 70% of the species studied.
  • Sea life inside MPAs held up better through the 2014–2016 marine heatwave, and fish diversity bounced back faster afterward.
  • In Laguna, Reef Check divers measured California sheephead up to 28 inches on protected reefs, compared with no more than 20.5 inches at the unprotected reefs just south.

Sources: Lester et al. 2009, Marine Ecology Progress Series; Aburto-Oropeza et al. 2011, PLoS ONE; CA Decadal Management Review key findings (2022); Reef Check California, Laguna Beach evaluation (2026).

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For anglers

Good news for families who fish

If you fish, thank you. Many Laguna families gave up favorite spots so our reefs could recover. Here’s the good part: the science says that sacrifice comes back.

The “spillover” effect

As fish and lobsters grow big and plentiful inside a reserve, they swim across the line and their babies drift out on the currents, stocking the fishing grounds next door.

  • Near Santa Barbara, closing about a third of the local lobster grounds was more than made up for: the total lobster catch in those areas rose 225% within six years.
  • At the Channel Islands, traps set just outside reserve borders caught nearly 400% more legal-size lobsters after ten years.
  • Anglers who joined California’s research fishing trips caught more and bigger fish, and came away with a more positive view of MPAs.
ReserveFishing groundsSPILLOVERBig fish grow inside, then spill over next door
Better fishing, just a short trip away. Laguna’s waters north of Abalone Point and south of Table Rock stay open to fishing, including the kelp forest off Salt Creek, Orange County’s largest. Fishing near a healthy reserve, where big fish spill over, beats working a depleted reef like Thousand Steps, where big fish have become rare. The Dana Point fishery, from the Headlands south to the San Clemente reefs, is no farther away than a fishing trip to South Laguna’s reefs. Always check current CDFW fishing rules before you go.
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For explorers

A whole world to discover

You don’t need a boat or a fishing pole to enjoy Laguna’s MPAs, just a mask, a tidepool, or a curious kid.

Bright orange garibaldi in a kelp forest
Meet the garibaldiLook for California’s bright orange state marine fish guarding its patch of reef. Calm days in Laguna’s protected coves are perfect for a first snorkel.
Looking up through a sunlit kelp forest
Take a guided snorkel tripThe Ocean Institute in Dana Point leads guided snorkel tours in North Laguna, with all gear and a wetsuit provided. Beginners welcome, ages 6 and up. Tours run in summer and early fall (June through October in 2026).See dates at the Ocean Institute →
The bow of a yellow kayak on the water off Laguna Beach
Paddle with a guideGuided kayak tours are available along North Laguna’s protected coastline, past kelp beds, sea lions and the occasional dolphin. No experience needed, all gear provided, and young children can ride in the middle seat with two adults.Photo: Dan StenslandLa Vida Laguna →Laguna Ethos →
Green sea anemones in a tidepool
Explore the tidepoolsAt low tide, anemones, sea stars, hermit crabs and octopus appear all along Laguna’s rocky shores.Photo: Sandy Dildine
Harbor seal underwater
Meet the neighborsSeals, dolphins, pelicans and black oystercatchers all make Laguna’s protected coast their home.Photo: Jordan Manning, “The Quiet Connection,” 15th Laguna Bluebelt Photo Contest
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Visit with care

How to be a great guest

Look, don’t takeLeave shells, rocks and sea life on the beach and in the tidepools. In Laguna’s MPAs, nothing may be collected.
Step lightlyWalk on bare rock or sand, not on living things, and watch for slippery surfaces.
Touch gently, or not at allIf you lift a rock to peek, put it back exactly as you found it.
Give wildlife spaceStay well back from resting seals and nesting birds. Let them come to you.

See something wrong? Report it.

Laguna Beach Marine Safety (MPA violations)(949) 497-0310
California CalTIP, 24 hours a day1-888-334-2258Or text “CALTIP” plus your tip to 847411
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Go deeper

Learn more

California MPAs (CDFW)Official maps, rules and the full list of 124 protected areas A Decade of Ocean ConservationKey findings from California’s first ten-year MPA review City of Laguna Beach: Ocean WildlifeLocal MPA rules, tidepools and where you can fish The Last MileWhy the reefs at Thousand Steps and Three Arch Bay need protection Volunteer with MPA WatchHelp Orange County Coastkeeper keep an eye on our coast Get Laguna Bluebelt newsSign up for updates on Laguna’s reefs

The reefs are ours to restore or lose

Whether you fish, dive, surf or just love a day at the beach, Laguna’s underwater parks are working for you. Come see for yourself, and help us protect the last mile.

Protect the Last MileJoin or donate

Sources: California Department of Fish and Wildlife, MPA statistics and Laguna Beach and Dana Point MPA pages; California Ocean Protection Council, MPA network overview and Decadal Management Review (2022); California Natural Resources Agency (IUCN Green List); California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program report (2022); Lester et al. (2009) Marine Ecology Progress Series 384:33–46; Aburto-Oropeza et al. (2011) PLoS ONE 6(8):e23601; Lenihan et al. (2021) Scientific Reports 11:2663; Lenihan et al. (2022), spillover at Channel Islands reserve borders; Behrens & Lafferty (2004) Marine Ecology Progress Series; Love et al. (1990) NOAA; PISCO, The Science of Marine Reserves; Reef Check California (2026); City of Laguna Beach Marine Safety.