Fishes: CINMS

The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) off the coast of Southern California was designated in 1980. In 2005, NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and CINMS were considering six alternatives for adjusting the sanctuary's boundaries. Identifying how the six options overlaid with the distribution of marine resources was a critical consideration. To address this need, we conducted a biogeographic assessment.

The California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) was formed in 1949 to study the ecological aspects of the Pacific sardine population collapse off California. Today, the focus has shifted to the study of the marine environment off the coast of California, the management of its living resources, and monitoring the indicators of El Nino and climate change.

The California Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project was started in July 2005 by the SeaDoc Society (UC Davis Wildlife Health Center). Since its inception, the Project has recovered more than 100 tons of lost fishing gear and other marine debris. The California Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project proposes to continue to help reduce the potential impact of lost fishing gear on living marine resources and underwater habitat by retrieving lost fishing gear from Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) and anywhere on the coast where it is a high priority for removal because of demonstrated or potential impacts to marine wildlife and people. 1-888-491-GEAR to report lost, abandoned, and discarded gear. 

Channel Islands Naturalist Corps volunteers are trained by CINMS and CINP to educate the public on board local marine excursion vessels conducting whale watch tours, natural history tours, and island trips. Channel Islands Naturalist Corps volunteers are trained to conduct citizen science on marine mammal field identification and general research. Research objectives of the program include the development of a comprehensive database of incidental marine mammal sightings and reports collected in the Santa Barbara Channel, CINMS and CINP.

Biological, geophysical, and anthropogenic sound sources all combine to make up an underwater acoustic environment, or “soundscape.” Because ocean water conducts light very poorly and conducts sound very well, many marine organisms rely on sound for communication, navigation, reproduction, and foraging. Using a network of moored hydrophones around the sanctuary, we can examine how soundscapes vary at each location and across sanctuary habitats.

Research on the movement and spatial ecology of Stereolepis gigas, the giant sea bass, is part of a broader collaborative study on the ecology and population dynamics of S. gigas in the Northern Channel Islands, involving population monitoring, population modeling, economic valuation, and food web modeling.

Partners: UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Long Beach

Giant sea bass (Stereolepis gigas) are large, soniferous apex predators of the kelp forest ecosystem. This project around Santa Barbara Island (SBI) utilizes a comprehensive array of acoustic telemetry receivers and external tagging of S. gigas to understand their movements around the islands. This work is in conjunction with the installation of soundtraps in order to gain a better understanding of the soundscape around SBI and the impact of sound on Giant Sea Bass in the region.

PISCO’s kelp forest monitoring programs are designed to reveal geographic patterns of the structure and functions of this important ecosystem through quantification of the abundance of the macroalgae, invertebrates and fishes that constitute kelp forest communities. Our approach allows us to quantify large- and small-scale spatial patterns of structure of the kelp forest communities as well as characterize changes over time. This information provides insight into the causes and consequences of changes in species abundance resulting from natural and anthropogenic factors and as such forms the basis of ecosystem-based management of kelp forest communities. 

The Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF)'s Fish Survey Project enlists the help of recreational SCUBA divers to identify and count nearshore fishes.

The Santa Barbara Channel Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (SBC MBON) is designed to provide a complete picture of marine biodiversity in the region. SBC MBON is developing a widely applicable research model that integrates new information with existing data to improve current research and monitoring programs and provide greater insight into marine biodiversity.

The Hook and Line Survey uses rod and reel gear to sample fish in areas that are difficult to survey using traditional methods such as research trawl nets. These areas include hard seafloor habitats like rocky reefs, boulder fields, and large undersea cliffs and pinnacles. Most of the species targeted by the Hook and Line Survey are rockfish, which are taxonomically classified in the genus Sebastes. Key species of rockfish include bocaccio (S. paucispinis), cowcod (S. levis), greenspotted rockfish (S. chlorostictus), and the vermilion rockfish complex (S. miniatus and S. crocotulus).

This is an ongoing study of potential MPA roles on larval recruitment, larval transport, animal movements and ocean circulation