Item No. 14 STAFF SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 22-23, 2018 14. MARINE PROTECTED AREAS (MPA) MONITORING Today’s Item Information ☒ Action ☐ Receive draft action plan for MPA monitoring and a presentation from DFW. Summary of Previous/Future Actions MRC overview of MPA monitoring action plan Jul 17, 2018; MRC, San Clemente Today receive draft action plan Aug 22-23, 2018; Fortuna Consider approving action plan Oct 17-18, 2018; Fresno Background The Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) requires provisions for “monitoring, research, and evaluation at selected sites to facilitate adaptive management of MPAs and ensure that the [MPA] system meets the goals” (sections 2853(c)(3) and 2856(a)(2)(H), California Fish and Game Code). FGC adopted guidance for monitoring, research and evaluation in the 2008 master plan for MPAs, which emphasized a regional scale for baseline monitoring efforts and monitoring plans for each of four planning regions. However, the 2016 final master plan, adopted by FGC in Aug 2016, recognizes that a statewide-level MPA network monitoring plan would be biologically appropriate and consistent with the MLPA goal to manage as a network moving forward. The 2016 master plan led to the design of a statewide MPA monitoring program, which includes and draws from regional monitoring components to gather sufficient information to evaluate network efficacy and inform 10-year MPA management reviews (see Chapter 4 of the 2016 master plan, Exhibit 1). DFW has collaborated closely with the California Ocean Protection Council and academic partners in drafting an “Action Plan [for] Marine Protected Area Monitoring”, which is provided by DFW in draft form for FGC review (exhibits 2 and 3). The draft action plan ties together work to date; incorporates novel, quantitative and expert-informed scientific approaches; and offers prioritization of metrics, habitats, sites, and species to target for long-term monitoring and evaluation of California’s MPA network. Today, DFW will present an overview of the draft action plan (Exhibit 4) and the process for peer review and revision prior to FGC approval of a final plan in Oct. Significant Public Comments (N/A) Recommendation (N/A) Exhibits 1. 2016 MPA master plan (Link: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=112486 2. DFW memo, received Jul 25, 2018 Author: Susan Ashcraft 1 Item No. 14 STAFF SUMMARY FOR AUGUST 22-23, 2018 3. Draft MPA monitoring action plan 4. DFW presentation Motion/Direction (N/A) Author: Susan Ashcraft 2 State of California Department of Fish and Wildlife M e m o r a n d u m Date: July 25, 2018 To: Valerie Termini Executive Director California Fish and Game Commission From: Craig Shuman, D. Env. Marine Regional Manager Subject: Submission for the August 22-23, 2018 Fish and Game Commission Meeting, Re: Draft Marine Protected Area Monitoring Action Plan The Department of Fish and Wildlife (Department) is submitting the Draft Marine Protected Area Monitoring Action Plan (Action Plan) and appendices to the Fish and Game Commission (Commission) for their August 22-23, 2018 meeting. The draft Action Plan will inform next steps for long-term monitoring in California by aggregating and synthesizing work to date, as well as by incorporating novel, quantitative, and expert informed approaches. The draft Action Plan prioritizes metrics, habitats, sites, and species to target for long-term monitoring in order to inform the evaluation of California’s MPA Network. The public comment period for the Draft Action Plan began July 16, 2018 and extends to August 16, 2018. The Department will provide a presentation at the August 22-23, 2018 meeting and anticipates requesting approval of the Action Plan at the Commission’s October 17-18, 2018 meeting in Fresno. If you have any questions regarding this item, please contact me at (916) 445-6459 or by email at [email protected]. Attachments Draft MPA Monitoring Action Plan Draft Action Plan Appendices ec: Becky Ota, Program Manager Marine Region [email protected] Stephen Wertz, Senior Environmental Scientist Marine Region [email protected] Sara Worden, Environmental Scientist Marine Region [email protected] ACTION PLAN MARINE PROTECTED AREA MONITORING ACTION PLAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 1.1 California’s MPA Network 4 1.2 Management of the MPA Network 7 MPA Management Program Focal Areas 7 MPA Governance 8 Partnership with California Native American Tribes 8 SECTION 2. MPA MONITORING PROGRAM 10 2.1 Phase 1: Regional Baseline Monitoring 11 2.2 Phase 2: Statewide Long-Term Monitoring 13 Process for Long-Term Monitoring 13 Timeline 14 Research Consortiums 14 Open Call Competitive Process 14 Incorporating Existing Approaches 14 Examples of Important Existing Programs 15 Incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge 18 2.3 Selection of Key Metrics, Habitats, Human Uses, Sites and Species 18 Key Performance Metrics 19 Key Habitats and Humans Uses 20 Tiered Approach 21 Regions for Long-Term Monitoring 22 Index Site Selection 22 Method 1: MPA Design Features 22 Method 2: MPA Historical Monitoring 23 Method 3: Habitat Based Connectivity Contribution Modeling 24 Method 4: Local Historical Fishing Effort 24 Integrating Quantitative Methods 25 Reference Site Criteria 29 Indicator Species Selection 32 Species List Scoring System 32 Species of Special Interest 39 SECTION 3. PLANNING FOR MANAGEMENT REVIEWS 40 Analysis 1: Predicting long-term changes following MPA implementation 40 Analysis 2: Statistical detectability of population responses to MPAs 43 Analysis 3: Incorporating spatial differences in fishing mortality to project population responses to MPAs 43 Analysis 4: Informing long-term monitoring sampling design 44 1 SECTION 4. CONCLUSION 46 SECTION 5. GLOSSARY 47 SECTION 6. LITERATURE CITED 49 SECTION 7. APPENDICES 57 APPENDIX A. FUNDING DISBURSEMENT MECHANISMS 57 APPENDIX B. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION QUESTIONS 57 APPENDIX C. CALIFORNIA ESTUARY AND WETLAND MONITORING SURVEY 57 APPENDIX D: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HUMAN USES MONITORING 57 APPENDIX E. DEEP WATER WORKSHOP REPORT 57 APPENDIX F. INDEX SITE SELECTION - DETAILED METHODS 57 APPENDIX G. TIERED INDICATOR SPECIES LISTS BY HABITAT TYPE 57 APPENDIX H. PROCEEDING OF THE MARINE PROTECTED AREA SITE SELECTION WORKSHOP 57 APPENDIX I: PROCEEDINGS OF THE REGIONAL OCEAN MODELING SYSTEM OVERVIEW WORKSHOP 57 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Recognizing the importance of California’s diverse marine species and ecosystems as vital to the state’s coastal economy, public well-being, and ecological health, the California Legislature passed the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA, Chapter 10.5 of the California Fish and Game Code [FGC], §2850-2863) in 1999. The MLPA required the state to redesign its pre-existing system of marine protected areas (MPAs) to function as a statewide network in order to protect the abundance, integrity, and diversity of marine life, habitats, and ecosystems for future generations. The MLPA has six goals that guided the design, siting, and management of the network of MPAs (Box 1, Section 1). The MLPA was implemented across California’s coast incrementally through four science-based and stakeholder-driven regional MPA planning processes, resulting in creation of an ecologically connected network of 124 new or redesigned MPAs and 15 special closures. Management of California’s MPA Network is a highly collaborative process led by the Fish and Game Commission (Commission), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC). The Commission is the primary decision-making authority for MPA regulations. CDFW implements and enforces the regulations set by the Commission, and is the lead managing agency for the MPA Network, while OPC serves as the policy lead for the implementation of MLPA activities. California’s MPAs are adaptively managed as a network through the MPA Management Program (Management Program). The MLPA defines adaptive management of MPAs as a process that facilitates learning from program actions and helps evaluate whether the MPA Network is making progress toward achieving the goals of the MLPA. The Management Program is guided by the 2016 MLPA Master Plan for MPAs (Master Plan), which directs the design, implementation, and management of the Network. The Management Program (identified as the Marine Life Protection Program, or the MLPP, in the Master Plan) is comprised of four focal areas: outreach and education, enforcement and compliance, research and monitoring, and policy and permitting. The MPA Statewide Leadership Team (Leadership Team) plays a key advisory role. The Leadership Team develops triennial work plans that identify consensus priorities across the four focal areas. The MPA Monitoring Action Plan (Action Plan) informs next steps for long-term MPA monitoring in California by aggregating and synthesizing work to date, as well as by incorporating novel, quantitative, and expert-informed approaches. This Action Plan prioritizes metrics, habitats, sites, and species to target for long-term monitoring in order to inform the evaluation of California’s MPA Network. The selections made in this document incorporate accumulated knowledge from the MPA design and siting process, baseline monitoring projects, and additional scientific study in California’s MPAs over the past decade, as well as novel approaches that are currently emerging. The primary intended audiences include existing and potential partners interested in applying for funding to conduct MPA monitoring, as well as other entities with