Laguna Beach marine protected areas

Three areas along one coast

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) says the entire Laguna Beach coastline and the water offshore became state marine protected areas in 2012, and the shoreline now carries three of them. CDFW publishes the boundaries and rules for each.

The Laguna Beach State Marine Reserve covers about 6.72 square miles of water and about 4.4 miles of shoreline. It runs from Abalone Point, the northern limit of the city, south to Goff Island. CDFW lists these beaches among its shoreline: Shaw’s Cove, Boat Canyon, Diver’s Cove, Heisler Park, Main Beach, Bluebird Beach and Woods Cove, and it photographs Crescent Bay as part of the reserve.

The Laguna Beach State Marine Conservation Area covers about 3.09 square miles and about 1.2 miles of shoreline. CDFW labels it no-take. It runs south from Goff Island to Table Rock, so it holds Aliso Beach, West Street and Table Rock.

The Dana Point State Marine Conservation Area begins at the south edge of the no-take area and covers about 4.0 miles of shoreline toward Dana Point. CDFW names Thousand Steps and Three Arch Bay on that stretch. It runs to a depth of about 152 feet.

What the rules say

For the reserve and the no-take conservation area, CDFW prints one sentence of regulation: it is unlawful to injure, damage, take or possess any living, geological or cultural marine resource. The conservation area entry adds that take incidental to certain permitted activities may be allowed and that other restrictions may apply. Fishing, recreational and commercial, is banned in both.

The Dana Point area works differently. Its general rule is the same, with exceptions. Recreational take of finfish by hook-and-line or spearfishing, and of lobster and urchin, is allowed. Commercial take of lobster by trap, sea urchin and coastal pelagic species is allowed. Take of living marine resources from tide pools is prohibited throughout the area.

The rule covers possessing a resource as well as taking it. The city’s beach pages say taking or collecting rocks, shells or marine life is prohibited, and its Good Tide Pooler Rules say to remove nothing, touch no animals and turn over no rocks. See tide pools for the tide table and rock safety.

What you can still do

Protection does not close the water. CDFW says that unless a rule specifically prohibits it, non-extractive uses such as swimming, wading, boating, diving and surfing are allowed. Its Laguna Beach page lists surfing, paddle boarding, kayaking, whale watching, snorkeling, scuba diving and freediving as popular in the area, and its Dana Point page lists kayaking, whale watching, diving and fishing.

Other rules still apply on top. The city says fishing is not allowed at the beaches it lists in the reserve, closes some rocks in high tides or surf, keeps Bird Rock off limits to people, and says swimmers and kayakers may not go onto Seal Rock off Crescent Bay. See snorkeling and diving and kayaking and paddleboarding for those activities.

What lives here

CDFW describes rocky reefs, shallow kelp-filled water, surfgrass meadows, sandy seafloor, coves and tide pools in the Laguna Beach areas. It lists California spiny lobster, turban snails, rock scallops, blacksmith, leopard sharks, horn sharks, California sheephead and cabezon in the kelp and reef zone. Tide pools hold Kellet’s whelks, top snails, limpets, anemones and small fishes. Sea lions, harbor seals and migrating whales pass through.

In the Dana Point area, CDFW adds giant sea bass, garibaldi, halibut and sole, and says gray whales pass through from December through April.

Reading the lines

Goff Island is the line to remember. It sits off Goff Cove and Treasure Island, and it divides the reserve from the no-take area. Table Rock, at the end of Table Rock Drive in South Laguna, is where the no-take area ends. The beaches in this list are in the order you meet them driving south along the coast. Before you fish or dive near a line, check CDFW’s interactive MPA map and the signs at the beach. For the beach you plan to visit, the beach page carries the same rule next to parking and stairs.