It was another great day aboard the LA Waterkeeper boat, monitoring activity in and around the Point Dume SMCA** and SMR**. We saw dolphins today, but the video above is actually from a July 25th MPA watch.

It's always nice to see people recreating in Marine Protected Areas and fishing in the waters just outside of them, but today it was especially satisfying given yesterday's NatGeo post about two recent studies suggesting that MPAs not only *quickly* contribute to higher fish yields, but also that the cost of implementing MPAs can be recouped by the fishing communities themselves within five years. These correspond to findings in a study of the impacts of California's MPA policy published earlier this year.

Many people in California's fishing communities were understandably concerned about how MPAs would affect their livelihoods, especially when it became clear no-take zones would be put in place in January 2012. There are always transition costs with new policies (especially bans on commercial activities), and California's fishermen shouldered most of the burden of implementing limited and no-take zones, but based on February's Marine Protected Areas Report -- and anecdotal stories from LA Waterkeeper's outreach guru -- they appear to be doing okay less than two years out. Let's hope California's coastal ecosystems and economies are not just recovering, but flourishing, well in advance of the five-year mark.

**MPA Designations
State Marine Reserve (SMR): fishing/harvest of all marine resources is prohibited
No-Take State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA): fishing/harvest of all marine resources is prohibited.
State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA): fishing/harvest of some marine resources permitted (specific take policy varies from one SMCA to the next)