Serving in a volunteer capacity, Council members provide advice and recommendations to the Sanctuary Manager on issues of marine resource protection, education, and research. The SAC typically meets every other month in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Council members serve voluntary three-year terms. The Sanctuary encompasses approximately 1,658 square miles of ocean and nearshore-habitat surrounding San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara islands.
Sanctuary boundaries extend from mean high tide to six nautical miles offshore each island.
This protected marine area provides refuge for 28 species of marine mammals and over 60 species of seabirds. The Sanctuary contains a variety of habitats including sandy beaches, rocky reefs, kelp forests, seagrass meadows, open ocean, and deep hard and soft bottom benthic communities that are home to an incredibly diverse array of plant and animal species. In addition to the abundance of natural resources, historical and cultural resources include over 200 documented shipwrecks and numerous Chumash Native American sites and artifacts.