Marine ecosystems along the North Coast of California exist in a highly energetic and variable oceanographic environment that strongly influences the dynamics and structure of the diverse marine populations that call this region home (Barth and Checkley 2009). Understanding the effect of marine protected areas (MPAs) implemented in this region therefore requires information on how oceanographic conditions vary over space and time. Baseline observations collected before or soon after implementation of MPAs depend in part on the oceanographic history of the region, and ongoing ocean observations can inform analysis of ecological and economic responses to MPAs over time (White et al. 2010). This report synthesizes a diverse suite of observations to provide this essential oceanographic context for baseline ecosystem studies (BES) in the North Coast Study Region (NCSR) and to establish a foundation for integrative studies, ongoing monitoring, and adaptive management of marine resources in the region. The primary intent of this work is to inform analysis of data collected during the BES and to the extent possible, to inform the design of future monitoring programs. Our foremost purpose is to provide historical perspective on conditions occurring during the 2014‐2016 Baseline Study Period (BSP). A great deal of this effort has been directed towards developing information specific to the NCSR that captures region‐specific responses to the unprecedented, persistent 2014‐2016 North Pacific marine heatwave (NPMHW) (Di Lorenzo and Mantua 2016) and associated ecosystem responses (including an equally unprecedented, massive, and persistent harmful algal bloom during 2015) (Leising et al. 2015, McClatchie et al. 2016).

This is the West Coast regional component of NOAA’s Estuarine Living Marine Resources (ELMR) Project, a national database of ecologically and economically important fishes and invertebrates in the Nation's estuaries. The distribution and relative abundance are depicted in a consistent format for 47 species of fishes and invertebrates, in 32 estuaries in coastal California, Oregon, and Washington State. Species were selected according to a set of criteria, which consider their commercial, recreational, and ecological value, as well as their utility as an indicator of environmental stress. For each species, five life stages are considered - adults, juveniles, larvae, spawning, and eggs - with some exceptions based on individual species life history. Each estuary is subdivided into one to three salinity zones (Tidal Fresh, Mixing, and Seawater). Relative abundance was ranked on a five-tier scale by month for each life stage of each species, in each salinity zone of each estuary. Details of the methods and resulting life history summaries for the West Coast ELMR component can be found in Monaco et al. (1990) and Emmett et al. (1991).

A report prepared for the California Ocean Science Trust on the first steps in developing an approach to leveraging existing monitoring programs

Learn about the biological, ecological, oceanographic, and socioeconomic conditions around the time of marine protected area (MPA) implementation on the North Coast. The North Coast region includes more than 1,000 square miles of state water from Point Arena to the California-Oregon border, and this report establishes a benchmark of conditions against which future changes can be compared. During the baseline monitoring period from 2013-2017, 11 projects worked across the North Coast to collect data and create a comprehensive understanding of the region. More than 30 organizations, including scientists, fishermen, tribal governments, citizen groups, and others, contributed to this summary report.

Here we provide one of the first systematic, “snapshot” surveys of the entire North Coast Study Region, from the Oregon border to the headland at Point Arena. Our attempt was to characterize these subtidal rocky reefs both inside of the newly created MPAs throughout the region and at comparable and representative reference areas outside of MPAs. We utilized small (19 and 22 ft) vessels for these surveys since representative reef habitats in this region are often remote and inaccessible from shore. These habitats are better represented in this study relative to those often reported on from the limited beach access surveys confined to small areas by other monitoring efforts. We used SCUBA surveys to measure the physical characteristics of rocky reefs and the relative abundance and sizes of many of the fishes, mobile and sessile invertebrates, and algae at each site. Species abundances were estimated along 30 m long swath surveys that count individuals within a 60 m² area or at predetermined points along a transect using uniform point contact (UPC) methods to estimate the percent cover of colonial and encrusting organisms covering the reefs.

,