North Coast MPA Baseline Monitoring Symposium
MAY 5, 2017
EUREKA, CA
Symposium Coordinators: Eve Robinson, Brian Tissot, Frank Shaughnessy, Ian Kelmartin
Cal Poly Humboldt’s Marine and Coastal Science Institute hosted a day-long symposium in May, 2017 to share key findings from baseline monitoring of marine protected areas (MPAs). The 11 state-funded projects formed the first comprehensive study of northern California’s coastal ocean, from the California-Oregon border to Point Arena, in Mendocino county. The symposium was attended by over 100 people, including researchers, students, Tribes, fishermen, management agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Presentations focused on the results of baseline monitoring and highlighted the partnerships that gathered data and knowledge on the North Coast.
The North Coast region includes 19 MPAs, one State Marine Recreational Management Area, and seven special closures, and covers about 13% of state waters in Northern California. Implemented in 2012, this network is the most recent region in California to complete baseline monitoring. Data was collected during two years of record-breaking temperatures and an El Niño event.

List of Talks (click to jump to more information):
- Welcome and Acknowledgement of Wiyot Ancestral Territory
- Introduction to the Symposium
- California’s MPA Management Program
- Opening Prayer
- Rocky Intertidal
- Rocky Subtidal Reefs
- Sandy Beaches: ecosystem
- Sandy Beaches: surfperch ecology
- Sandy Beaches: surfperch diet
- Oceanographic Conditions
- Seabirds: North Coast
- Seabirds: Castle Rock
- Estuaries: Ecology
- Estuaries: Biodiversity
- Indigenous Traditional Knowledge
- Socioeconomics and Human Dimensions
- Citizen Science of Rocky Reefs and Kelp Forests
- Mid-Depth and Deep Subtidal Ecosystems
- Fish Communities: Hook-and-line Surveys
Welcome and Acknowledgement of Wiyot Ancestral Territory
Thomas Torma
Wiyot Cultural Director
Introduction to the Symposium
Brian Tissot
Director, Humboldt Telonicher Marine Laboratory and Marine & Coastal Sciences Institute
Additional Information:
California’s MPA Management Program
Adam Frimodig
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Additional Information:
Opening Prayer
Rachel Sundberg
Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria
Rocky Intertidal
Joe Tyburczy
California Sea Grant Extension
Additional Information:
Sandy Beach Ecosystems
Jenifer Dugan
University of California Santa Barbara
Additional Information:
Sandy Beaches: Surf Perch Ecology
Michelle Succow
Cal Poly Humboldt
Additional Information:
Sandy Beaches: Surf Perch Diet
Helen Mulligan
Cal Poly Humboldt
Additional Information:
Oceanographic Conditions
Eric Bjorkstedt
NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Additional Information:
Seabirds of Castle Rock
Stephanie Schneider
Cal Poly Humboldt
Additional Information:
Estuaries: Biodiversity
Frank Shaughnessy
Cal Poly Humboldt
Additional Information:
Indigenous Traditional Knowledge
Megan Van Pelt, Rosa Laucci, and Jaytuk Steinruck
Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation
Additional Information:
Socioeconomics and Human Dimensions
Laurie Richmond
Cal Poly Humboldt
Additional Information:
Citizen Science of Rocky Reefs and Kelp Forests
Jan Freiwald
Director of Reef Check California
Additional Information:
Mid-Depth and Deep Subtidal Ecosystems
Heidi Lovig
Marine Applied Research and Exploration
Additional Information:
Fish Communities: Hook-and-line Surveys
Ian Kelmartin
Cal Poly Humboldt
Additional Information: