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While
human interactions are highlighted here in a
distinct section, the truth is that
humans
play a role in all aspects
of the Sanctuary and therefore the interplay of
humans and marine resources can be found throughout
this report. In particular, the following topics
have related articles in other sections of this
report: tidepools;
whale
watching;
fishing;
water quality
studies; volunteers: (see
water
quality and
Beach
COMBERS)..
Most of the categories of
human use in the following table are the same as
shown in last year's Ecosystem Observations, so you
can compare this year's numbers to last year's. In
the future, as our data collection improves, we
hope to present data comparatively to past
years.
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ACTIVITY
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DETAILS
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Tidepoolers
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Visitors to Fitzgerald Marine Reserve -
approximately 120,000
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Visitor
Estimates to State Parks and Beaches
Contiguous to the
Sanctuary1
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San Mateo County coast - 1.3 million
paid day users
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Santa Cruz County coast - 1.6 million
paid day users
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Monterey County coast - 473,000 paid
day users
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Monterey County provided the following
estimates for free-use
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locations:
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Asilomar State Beach & Conference
Center - 504,000
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Monterey State Beach - 676,000
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Other State Beaches (excluding Marina)
- 737,000
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Data unavailable for Hearst Beach in
San Luis Obispo
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County and Stinson Beach in Marin
County.
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Whale
Watchers andPleasure
Boaters2
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Whale watch and sea life cruises -
21,430 people
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Sail and yacht charters - 18,140
people
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Please note these
numbers represent a few, but not all,
whale watch and pleasure boat charters in
Monterey and Santa Cruz.
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Kayakers3
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Estimated number of kayak trips via
rentals or tours - 25,282
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Please note these
numbers represent a few, but not all,
kayak shops in Monterey, Moss Landing, and
Santa Cruz.
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Surfers4
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Estimated number of regular surfers on
the Monterey Peninsula - 300 throughout
the year
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Estimated number of surfers from
Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz to Capitola -
300 daily
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Divers5
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Estimated number of diver days using
equipment rentals, air fills, tours, and
entrance fees - 28,840
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Please note these numbers represent a
few, but not all, dive shops in Monterey
and Santa Cruz, as well as weekend divers
at Point Lobos State Reserve.
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6th Annual
Great American Fish Count
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Total locations - 27
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Total bottom time - 80 hours
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Total species counted - 70
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Total surveys completed - 112
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(for more details, see Sanctuary
Programs)
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Fishing
Licenses by
County6
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Commercial fishing
licenses:
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Charter boat
licenses(recreational
fishers):*
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Marin
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183
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16
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San Francisco
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162
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16
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San Mateo
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233
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13
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Santa Clara
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201
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1
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Santa Cruz
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170
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8
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Monterey
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537
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13
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San Luis Obispo
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414
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7
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*One charter boat company was hired by
approximately 4,386 recreational fishers
during 1999.
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1999 Coastal
Cleanup7
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Coastal Cleanup beach debris collected,
by county:
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Marin - 9,083 lbs trash; 2,065
lbs recyclables; 917 volunteers
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San Francisco - 6,451 lbs trash;
2,306 lbs recyclables; 1,914
volunteers
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San Mateo - 5,853 lbs trash;
1,195 lbs recyclables; 600 volunteers
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Santa Cruz - 6,740 lbs trash and
recyclables; 2,023 volunteers
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Monterey - 28,932 lbs trash;
2,248 lbs recyclables; 2,172
volunteers
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San Luis Obispo - 4,045 lbs
trash; 897 lbs recyclables; 650
volunteers
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Of special note,
approximately 70 recreational divers, as
well as Navy and Sanctuary divers,
collected 5,880 lbs of trash and
recyclables at Monterey
Harbor.
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Volunteer
Docents
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Estimated contacts with the public:
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Save Our Shores Sanctuary Stewards
(Santa Cruz and San Mateo) - 75,000
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BAY NET (Santa Cruz and Monterey
Peninsula) - 32,000
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Friends of the Elephant Seal (San Luis
Obispo County) - 72,447
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Volume of
Permitted
Effluent8
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National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) Permits -
54
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accounting for
discharges totaling 1,771 million
gallons/day (1 of these permits is for the
discharge of 1,450 million gallons/day of
cooling water); 10 of these permits do not
have discharge flows
defined
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State Waste Discharge Requirement (WDR)
Permits - 230
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accounting for
discharges totaling 70 million
gallons/day
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Sanitary
Exceedances and Unauthorized
Discharges9
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Reported sanitary exceedances and
unauthorized discharges, by county:
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Marin
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San
Francisco
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San
Mateo
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Santa
Cruz
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Monterey
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San Luis
Obispo
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Effluent exceedances in
watershed
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0
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0
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1
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18
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32
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2
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Effluent exceedances w/ direct
discharges to Sanctuary
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0
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0
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67*
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7
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5
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1
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Unauthorized dis-charges in
watershed
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0
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0
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0
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10
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21
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0
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Unauthorized direct
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0
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0
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8*
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0
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7
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0
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*Notes: Pacifica WWTP
is now treating effluent to tertiary
levels and discharging the effluent to
Calera Creek under a new NPDES permit
issued by the RWQCB. Sewage Authority Mid
Coastside's new wastewater treatment plant
was dedicated on October 22,1999 and
therefore plant managers are confident
that NPDES permit violations will be
reduced.
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Beach
Postings and
Closures10
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By county:
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Marin - no beach closures or
postings from Rocky Point to Point
Bonita
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San Francisco - 2 beaches posted
due to stormdrain overflows and sewage for
a total of 15 days
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San Mateo - 4 beaches closed due
to high bacteria counts for a total of 219
days and 1 beach closed due to a sewage
spill for a total of 31 days
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Santa Cruz - 4 beaches closed
due to sewage spills and an unknown source
for a total of 136 days; 2 beaches posted
due to high bacteria counts for a total of
38 days; 4 beaches posted permanently due
to fecal contamination from dense bird
populations; and contamination from dense
bird populations; and 1 beach posted
seasonally
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Monterey - 1 beach closed due to
a sewage spill for a total of 9 days and 6
beaches posted due to high bacteria counts
for a total of 55 days
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San Luis Obispo - no beach
closures or postings from Cambria north to
the Monterey County border
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Vessel
Incidents
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2/19/99 - 26-foot kelp harvesting boat
capsized off Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz;
the boat was recovered by the owner
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3/3/99 - 479-foot cargo vessel
Hollandic Confidence carrying sulfur
foundered off the Golden Gate; the vessel
steamed into San Francisco for repairs; no
significant loss of cargo or oil
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4/14/99 - airplane crash in deep water
resulting in fuel spill
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5/10/99 - 30-foot sailboat ran aground
on the beach north of Marina; the owner
cleaned up the debris
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7/25/99 - 20-foot Bayliner ran aground
at Muir Beach, Marin County; the boat,
fuel, and oil were removed
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8/16/99 - 573-foot car carrier vessel
Gardenia Ace ran adrift and caught on fire
80 miles west of Point Sur; the vessel was
towed to San Francisco
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10/28/99 - 28-foot cabin cruiser sank
off Capitola and broke up on Capitola
Beach
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10/28/99 - 17-foot sailboat sank off
Capitola and washed in at New Brighton
State Beach
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11/19/99 - 26-foot sailboat capsized
and washed ashore 2 miles north of the
Moss Landing Harbor jetties
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Oil
Spills11
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35 direct spills ranging from 0 to 10
gallons
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8 diesel or industrial waste spills in
the watershed ranging from 30 to 600
gallons
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Enforcement
Actions under the Marine Sanctuaries
Act
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5 cases have been completed:
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2 cases of marine mammal harassment at
Piedras Blancas
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3 cases (homeowner, firm, and
contractor) in Capitola for the completion
of a seawall without prior NOAA
permits
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157 cases under investigation:
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1 case of sewage discharge into the
Sanctuary
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1 case of contaminated decant water
discharge into the Sanctuary without a
federal permit
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1 case of construction activities
within the Sanctuary without permits
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approximately 50 incidents of low
flying aircraft violations awaiting
investigation
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approximately 100 verbal warnings for
marine mammal harassment at Piedras
Blancas
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2 written warnings for marine mammal
harassment at Piedras Blancas
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2 cases of seabird takes involving
California halibut gillnet fisherman have
been forwarded to US Fish & Wildlife
Service for criminal proscutions under the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act
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6 pending cases:
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2 cases of marine mammal harassment
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4 cases of operation of a personal
watercraft outside prescribed zones
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Human
Interactions statistics compiled
by Lisa de Marignac1,
Patrick Cotter1, Susan
Pufahl1, and Joey
Ritchie2
1 Monterey Bay
National Marine Sanctuary
2 Sanctuary Intern
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1 - Source:
California State Parks and
Monterey County
2 - Source: Baywatch Cruises,
Monterey Bay Whale Watch,
Sanctuary Cruises, Sanctuary
Tours, Chardonnay Sailing,
O'Neill Yacht Center, Pacific
Yachting and Sailing
3 - Source: AB Seas, Kayak
Connection, Adventure Sports,
Venture Quest
4 - Source: On the Beach Surf
Shop and Paradise Surf Shop
5 - Source: Aquarius, Bamboo
Reef, Manta Ray, Monterey Bay
Dive Center, Aqua Safaris,
Adventure Sports, Point Lobos
State Reserve
6 - Source: California Department
of Fish and Game
7 - Source: California Coastal
Commission
8 - Source: Regional Water
Quality Control Boards
9 - Source: Regional Water
Quality Control Boards
10 - Source: County Environmental
Health Departments
11 - Source: U.S. Coast Guard and
Central Coast Regional Water
Quality Control Board
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Tourism
and Monterey County
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According
to a 1999 survey of Monterey County guests,
travelers to the Monterey area cite the region's
scenery and beauty—particularly the ocean and
coastline--as a main reason for visiting the
region. In fact, of the past guests interviewed, 81
percent associate the scenery/beauty/ nature as the
most positive image of the Monterey area; the
results were similar for both potential and current
guests as well.
Specific draws to Monterey
County in-clude Carmel, the Monterey Bay Aquarium,
Cannery Row, Fisherman's Wharf, 17-Mile Drive, the
beaches and the ocean, and Big Sur. Seventeen
percent of current guests stated that Monterey is
their favorite travel destination; this compares
favorably to15 percent who mentioned Europe and 14
percent who said Hawaii. Finally, an overwhelming
97 percent of current guests and 87 percent of past
guests said Monterey is an area to which they would
return.
Monterey County tourists
tend to be better educated and more affluent than
the national average, and they also tend to travel
as couples. Current and past guests were also older
on average than those who have never visited the
area. Most guests (56 percent) to the Monterey
region are from California, specifically from
Northern California (44 percent), and so are more
likely than average to make day trips and more
frequent visits. Of current guests interviewed, 60
percent stated that Monterey was their only travel
destination; 53 percent stayed in the area for
three or more days.
--Joey
Ritchie
Sanctuary Intern
Source: Monterey Guest
Study, by Wirthlin Worldwide for the Monterey
County Travel and Tourism Alliance. 1,203 current
guests were interviewed in-person between December
1998 and July 1999; 500 past and potential guests
were interviewed by telephone July 28–3,
1999.
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Population
Expands along the Sanctuary's
Shores
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We
reached a significant milestone in 1999: the
world's population exceeded 6 billion. Reflecting
this general trend, the population in the counties
bordering the Monterey Bay National Marine
Sanctuary has also been growing rapidly over the
past fifty years.
As human population
increases, so does the pressure on coastal and
Sanctuary resources. The effort to protect the
living resources of the Sanctuary, and to maintain
the health and quality of life for individuals who
live along its shores and within its watersheds,
will become increasingly challenging as more and
more people place ever greater demands on these
resources.
The environmental stress
caused by overpopulation is a product of both
numbers and consumption. As individuals, we have
only limited control over population numbers; but
we have a great deal of control over our own
consumption habits. Currently, Americans comprise
only 5 percent of the world's population but
consume 30 percent of the world's
resources.
The new millennium offers
an opportunity to show respect to neighbors, other
living creatures, and future generations by
reducing consumption. Buying less, driving less,
and using less water can help alleviate the
pressure on our precious—and limited—natural
resources.
--Susan
Pufahl
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
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Population
1850 - 2040
(projected)
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Diver
Perspective
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The
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the
diving community share the common goal of
protecting our marine resources. From a diver's
perspective, the opportunity to view the beauty of
the undersea world first-hand can instill a strong
sense of commitment to preserve the ocean and its
habitats for future generations.
Divers are concerned about
the decline of abalone and rockfish populations and
the decrease in size of the fish we swim with. We
are concerned about the impact of projects that
disturb the seabed including the delicate
nudibranchs, anemones, and numerous other marine
organisms that live in nearshore habitats. Divers
are also concerned when commercial harvesting of
fish or kelp exceeds sustainable yields or has a
detrimental effect on the marine
environment.
For decades members of the
diving community have organized and participated in
the underwater cleanup of Monterey Harbor, as well
as other coastal areas of California. On September
18, 1999 divers recovered more than 5,800 pounds of
debris from the ocean floor in and around Monterey
Harbor. Divers are planning several more cleanup
dives in the year 2000. Some day we hope that,
through Sanctuary education programs, these dives
will no longer be needed.
The diving community looks
forward to working closely with the Sanctuary to
protect our marine environment in the new
millennium. A Diver Partnership Program (DPP) was
created by the Sanctuary, with guidance from the
diving community, to facilitate this goal. Current
DPP projects include the development of an
educational brochure for divers, a DPP web page,
contributing to a portable diver information booth,
helping to coordinate diver cleanup programs, and
the development of the NOAA Observational Diver
Program to recognize divers who contribute to
Sanctuary resource protection.
--David R.
Clayton
Diver Representative,
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory
Council
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