3/07 National Marine Protected Areas Center, 1305 East West Highway, 12th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910

The State of the Nation’s Marine Managed Areas:

Place-Based Conservation in West Coast Waters

Marine Managed Areas in the U.S.

The nation’s oceans are in trouble. Pollution, habitat destruction and over-exploitation 

of harvested species continue to threaten the health and sustainability of marine 

ecosystems around the country. Unchecked, these trends jeopardize much of what our 

society values most about the ocean. Growing concerns over declines in ocean health 

have driven interest in ecosystem-based and place-based approaches to conserving 

marine habitats and resources.

Marine managed areas (MMAs), and marine protected areas (MPAs), which 

are generally more restrictive, are valuable ecosystem-based tools for conserving 

important ocean areas by managing human uses within their boundaries. To better 

understand how these place-based conservation approaches are being used in U.S. 

waters, the National Marine Protected Areas Center has inventoried key information 

about the nation’s MMAs. This brochure highlights important trends in the location, 

size, purpose, and management approach of existing MMAs off the U.S. west coast. 

Analyses are presented for west coast regional waters (0 – 200 nautical miles (nm)) 

and state waters (0 – 3 nm) off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington. 

These results are intended to inform the effective conservation and management of 

marine ecosystems in the region, and provide the foundation for designing an effective 

National System of MPAs. 

West Coast Marine Managed Areas (MMAs) at a Glance

269 MMAs exist in west coast waters (0 – 200 nm).

These MMAs cover nearly half (47%) the west coast waters. 

Almost this entire area (99.9%) allows multiple uses, such as fishing and 

recreation. 

A small fraction of the MMA area (0.1%) is no-take.

Federal MMAs are fewer, but much larger than state MMAs.

Fishing is allowed in almost the entire MMA area (99.9%).

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The National Inventory of Marine 

Managed Areas (MMAs) in the U.S.

The MMA Inventory is an 

unprecedented data set that 

documents the location, boundaries, 

authorities, conservation purposes 

and management approaches of all 

existing MMAs in U.S. waters. Using 

data gathered and verified through 

collaborative efforts with federal, 

state, and territory MMA sites and 

programs, this ambitious endeavor has 

now compiled invaluable information 

about more than 1,500 sites around 

the U.S.

To be considered an MMA, a site must 

meet the following criteria: 

area: have legally defined 

boundaries

marine: be an area of ocean or 

coastal waters or the Great Lakes

reserved: be established by or 

currently subject to site-specific 

regulation

lasting: provide year-to-year 

protection for a minimum of two 

consecutive years

protection: have existing regulations 

that afford increased protection 

specifically to natural and/or 

cultural resources and qualities 

within the site

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3/07 National Marine Protected Areas Center, 1305 East West Highway, 12th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Toward A National System of 

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

In response to the growing interest 

in MPAs within the United States, 

Executive Order 13158 calls for the 

establishment of an effective and 

comprehensive National System 

of MPAs, representing the nation’s 

diverse marine ecosystems and natural 

and cultural resources. The MPA 

Center is leading a public process 

with agency and stakeholder input 

to develop the Framework for the 

National System, including the 

definitions and criteria for MPAs. 

These MPA criteria will be used to 

identify sites in the MMA Inventory 

that are eligible for nomination to the 

National System by their respective 

managing agencies.

Map 1

Location of the 269 MMAs along 

the west coast of the United States, 

by level of government. The dashed 

red line indicates the 200 nm limit 

of the Exclusive Economic Zone, 

and the solid red line indicates the 

state limit (0 – 3 nm). The Trawl 

Footprint Closure designated as part 

of Essential Fish Habitat by the 

federal government, is the area in 

blue hatching. The red square to the 

left of the EEZ indicates the total 

aggregate area of no take MMAs for 

the entire west coast. The total area 

that is off limits to fishing (no take 

area) in west coast waters is 371 km2, 

an area half the size of Lake Tahoe. 

MMAs in West Coast Regional Waters (0 – 200 nautical miles)

Number and Size

269 MMAs of differing sizes cover almost half the west coast waters (0 – 200 nm; map 

1). MMAs can be described in two different ways, by number and by size (or area). One 

large MMA may equal the spatial extent of many small MMAs. For example, more 

than half the west coast MMAs are smaller than 10 km2, but several are quite large 

(>10,000km2). Most MMAs occur off California (177), with far fewer off Washington 

(61) and Oregon (34). The recent designation of Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) sites 

in June 2006 by the federal government considerably changed the spatial coverage of 

MMAs in the region, increasing the percentage protected by MMAs from 6% to 47% 

(map 1).

Level of Government

Federal, state, territorial, tribal and local governments establish and manage MMAs. 

On the west coast, the federal government manages one third of all sites and practically 

the entire MMA area. Federal sites tend to be large (average size = 5,168 km2), while 

state MMAs are typically small (average size = 29 km2). Although two-thirds of all 

west coast MMAs are managed by state programs, they comprise 

only one percent of the total MMA coverage. Local governments 
3/07 National Marine Protected Areas Center, 1305 East West Highway, 12th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910

and partnerships among government programs play an even smaller role in managing 

MMAs.

Establishment Date

While MMAs have been part of marine resource management on the west coast for 

nearly a century, the majority (92%) were established since 1970. Those designated in 

the 1970s are primarily state managed MMAs (89%), whereas more recent sites (since 

2000) are mainly federal (66%). The region’s first MMA is Washington’s Olympic 

National Park, set aside by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1909 to protect the 

diverse habitats of the Olympic Peninsula.

Level of Protection

The effects of MMAs on ecosystems and human uses will reflect the type and level of 

protection within their boundaries, although other factors such as enforcement also 

play an important role. Levels of protection in the region’s MMAs range from multiple 

use, where many human uses are allowed (e.g. fishing), to no take and no access areas, 

where all extractive activities are prohibited. Among waters covered by west coast 

MMAs, virtually the entire area (99.9%) allows multiple uses, including extraction. 

Less than 0.1% of the region’s MMA area is no take, predominantly managed by the 

state programs (95%). Large MMAs are generally multiple use sites, while most no 

take MMAs are quite small (Figure 1).

Impacts on Fishing

MMAs are often perceived to prohibit all fishing within their boundaries. In contrast, 

the national inventory reveals that west coast MMAs rarely prohibit all fishing. 

Commercial and recreational fishing are prohibited in less than one percent of all area 

protected by MMAs. Instead, fishing is allowed in almost all of the region’s MMA area, 

with certain restrictions, including limits on gear type and fishing depths. Such limits 

are most commonly applied to commercial fishing. However, recreational fishing is 

rarely managed (< 1% of MMA waters). In a few instances, access is prohibited, which 

effectively prohibits recreational fishing. For example, Protection Island National 

Wildlife Refuge in the Puget Sound is an example of a no take MMA where user 

access, is prohibited in a 200-yard buffer zone around the island to protect nesting 

birds.

Conservation Focus

MMAs serve a variety of conservation and management goals in the United States. 

Individual sites are created to address three broad purposes: (i) natural heritage 

conservation (e.g., biodiversity, threatened and endangered species), (ii) cultural 

heritage conservation (e.g., shipwrecks), and (iii) sustainable production of harvested 

species (e.g., fishery stocks). On the west coast, the majority of area within MMAs 

(88%) was created for the dual, and potentially conflicting, conservation purposes 

of natural heritage and sustainable production. This trend is heavily influenced by 

the recent designation of EFH for west coast groundfish. For example, one EFH 

site (for both natural heritage and sustainable production called the Trawl Footprint 

Closure), makes up four fifths of all area in MMAs. Sites focused on both natural and 

Figure 1

Level of protection for MMAs in 

west coast waters (0-200 nm) by area 

(percentage of area in MMAs) and by 

number of MMAs (in parenthesis). 

Almost the entire area in west coast 

MMAs is multiple use, where various 

human activities (including fishing and 

recreation) can occur. A tiny portion 

of the west coast MMA area prohibits 

fishing. 

Multiple use (222)

99.9%

No take (47)

< 0.1%

Level of protection (by area)

Level of Protection (by area)

Less than 0.1% of the 

region’s MMA area is no 

take, an area half the size 

of Lake Tahoe.
cultural heritage make up the next largest portion (7%). Five large National Marine 

Sanctuaries focus on these dual conservation purposes. Very small portions of the 

regions MMAs have a single statutory conservation focus.

Ecological Scale of Protection

MMAs differ in the scope and ecological scale of their intended conservation 

targets. For example, the focus of MMAs in the region ranges from economically 

or ecologically significant focal species or habitats, to entire ecosystems and their 

associated ecological processes. Due largely to extensive fishery habitat areas for west 

coast groundfish, most of the region’s MMA coverage (91%) targets this focal fish 

assemblage. The balance of area in west coast MMAs is devoted to broader ecosystem 

scale protection, such as that provided by National Marine Sanctuaries, National Parks, 

and many of California’s Marine Life Protection Act sites. 

Permanence and Constancy of Protection

MMAs differ in the duration of protection provided to the area. Duration of protection 

reflects a combination of permanence and constancy within a year, both of which can 

profoundly influence the MMA’s ultimate ecosystem and socioeconomic impacts. All 

of the region’s MMAs provide permanent protection. Similarly, most provide yearround protection, with only four small MMAs having seasonal protection.

MMAs in State Waters (0 – 3 nautical miles)

California

California state waters contain 161 state and federal MMAs, more than Washington 

and Oregon combined (Table 1, Figure 2). These MMAs form an overlapping 

patchwork of nearshore and offshore sites that covers nearly half of state waters 

(map 2). Almost all of the MMA area (97%) allows multiple uses, while extractive 

activities are prohibited in the remaining 3%. While the total area of no take MMAs 

in California is still relatively small (349 km2), it is considerably larger than that in 

Oregon or Washington combined. Federal MMAs are less common, but much larger 

in California waters than are state MMAs. For example, three of the four National 

Marine Sanctuaries and a handful of Essential Fish Habitat areas span large portions 

of California waters, ranging from the coastline out to beyond the state boundary at 3 

nm. California has the only seasonally protected MMAs (e.g. Farallon Islands Marine 

Conservation Area) in the region. This site helps shelter birds or marine mammals 

from human activities during their seasonal breeding periods. 

Oregon

Oregon has 22 state and federal MMAs: the fewest number of MMAs of the three 

west coast states. Encompassing a very small part (3%) of state waters, these MMAs 

are located mainly in estuarine and intertidal habitats close to shore. Nearly all (94%) 

of Oregon’s MMA area is managed by the federal government, and most of that 

falls within four coastal National Wildlife Refuges: Lewis and Clark, Bandon Marsh, 

Nestucca, and Siletz. One site- Lewis and Clark National Wildlife 

Refuge- makes up the majority of Oregon’s MMA expanse (87%). 

3/07 National Marine Protected Areas Center, 1305 East West Highway, 12th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910

0

25

50

75

100

125

150

175

California Oregon Washington

Number of MMAs

Figure 2

Number of MMAs by state. 

California has more MMAs than 

Oregon and Washington combined. 

91% of the MMA area 

in the region targets 

protection of west coast 

groundfish.
Almost all of Oregon’s MMA area allows multiple uses. Only three small no take and 

no access MMAs exist in Oregon, amounting to 6 km2, equivalent in size to a small 

college campus.

Washington

There are 54 state and federal MMAs covering a quarter of Washington’s state waters. 

Many are nearshore and located within the Puget Sound and the Northwest Straits. 

A notable exception is the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary located along 

the exposed Pacific Coast. Nearly all MMA area in state waters allows multiple uses, 

including resource extraction. Although more than a third of MMAs are classified as 

no take, these MMAs are all very small and their total area is 13 km2. In fact, the smallest 

MMA along the west coast is the no take Niawiakum River Natural Area Preserve of 

Puget Sound, which is the size of a 1.25 acre residential property lot. In contrast to 

California and Oregon waters, federal and state programs manage approximately an 

equal proportion of area within MMAs of Washington waters.

West Coast

823,866 km2

(0-200 nm)

California

14,984 km2

(0-3 nm)

Oregon

3,911 km2

(0-3 nm)

Washington

10,030 km2

(0-3 nm)

Total area protected 390,493 km2 6,934 km2 121 km2 2,627 km2

% of waters covered 47% 46% 3% 26%

Number of MMAs 269 161 22 54

% multiple use area 99.9% 97% 96% 99.5% 

Size of no take area 371 km2 349 km2 6 km2 13 km2

Map 2

Location of MMAs in Southern 

California, with the level of protection 

indicated for each MMA. 

3/07 National Marine Protected Areas Center, 1305 East West Highway, 12th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Table 1 

Comparison of MMAs in west coast 

and state waters.
3/07 National Marine Protected Areas Center, 1305 East West Highway, 12th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910

The Emerging Picture of Place-based Marine Management 

on the West Coast

The results of the national MMA inventory illustrate that this place-based management 

tool is widely used in the west coast region. Interesting differences are seen in MMA 

usage among the three coastal states and between state and federal management 

agencies. Regional patterns in the use of MMAs confirm some and dispel other 

common perceptions about how this place-based management tool is used to conserve 

important areas in U.S. waters (see Table 1).

The 269 MMAs cover nearly half of U.S. waters from California to Washington. 

Of the marine area under MMA protection, very little (0.1%) completely prohibits all 

extractive uses such as fishing. In contrast, the vast majority of the region’s MMA sites 

and area allow multiple uses, including many forms of extraction. No take areas tend 

to be small, managed by state agencies and focused on natural heritage conservation. 

Federal MMAs tend to be large multiple use sites with more than one conservation 

focus. The regional amount of area covered by MMAs changed dramatically with the 

recent EFH designation. 

This brochure summarizes some highlights of the nation’s first comprehensive 

inventory of existing MMAs in U.S. waters. These results, and the insights they provide, 

will inform an ongoing process to evaluate current approaches to place-based ocean 

management and to design an effective National System of marine protected areas 

meeting multiple conservation goals.

For Additional Information

Contacts:

Joseph A. Uravitch, AICP Charles M. Wahle, PhD

Director Director

National Marine Protected Areas Center MPAC Science Institute

joseph.uravitch@noaa.gov charles.wahle@noaa.gov

(301) 563-1195 (831) 242-2052

West Coast MMA Analysis Team: 

Dr. Lisa Wooninck, Dr. Rikki Grober-Dunsmore, Monica Diaz.

No take areas tend to 

be small and focused 

on natural heritage 

conservation.