Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are conservation areas designed to protect some of California’s most productive coastal underwater habitats.
As of May 1, 2010, Fitzgerald Marine Reserve lies at the heart of a larger MPA, Montara State Marine Reserve. Click here for a PDF map. This MPA is one of 18 special conservation areas established between Half Moon Bay and Mendocino County. Read more about this new MPA and how it was established in our June 2010 newsletter, or at the California Department of Fish and Game web site.
This MPA has been given the highest level of protection and designated a “no-take” area.
No collecting of any natural materials including animals, plants, algae, shells, rocks, sand, and wood is allowed within Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. No fishing is permitted.
Please do not take buckets out onto the reef at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and do not transfer organisms into containers, even just for observation.
Dogs and other pets are not permitted in Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, and smoking is not allowed.