The Good News

When Heal the Bay was founded in 1985, the Santa Monica Bay was in bad shape.  Swimmers and surfers were contracting strange rashes and frequent respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses.  There were dead zones in the bay, where no marine life could survive because of the lack of oxygen.  Fish in the bay had fin rot, and local dolphins had tumors.  Today, we’re happy to say that the bay has vastly improved.  People can still get sick from swimming in runoff contaminated water, but the majority of our local beaches are clean during dry weather. We see significantly fewer animals with fin rot and tumors, and the dead zones have disappeared.

Human Health

Generally speaking, Santa Monica Bay beaches are safe for people to swim at during the summer months. The fight to clean up sewage treatment in LA was successful, and that means that sewage is simply not as much of a problem for swimmers and surfers.  The battle we face now is against stormwater, or urban runoff. The water that falls on LA streets flows into catch basins and then runs through a network of pipes that drain, untreated, directly into the ocean.  This water contains high amounts of bacteria from city streets, as well as trash, toxins, and other pollutants.  What happens if you swim in water polluted by urban runoff?  Well, unfortunately, today you can still catch a stomach virus or respiratory infection.  Some people come down with skin rashes or ear infections too. To make sure you stay healthy, Heal the Bay strongly recommends that you avoid swimming or surfing within 100 yards of a flowing storm drain. That’s the length of a football field—or 100 very large steps.  Also, during rainstorms, the large amounts of water that flow into our ocean carry a lot of pollution.  Stay out of the water for 3 full days or 72 hours after the rain stops, in order to give the pollution time to dissipate, and that means you have a better chance of staying healthy.

There’s still work to do…

Unfortunately, while we’ve come a long way, Southern California’s marine ecosystems are still seriously imperiled.  Our coastal and ocean environment remain threatened by polluted runoff, marine debris, habitat destruction, and overfishing. As mentioned above, one of the most pressing matters facing Santa Monica Bay right now is urban runoff.  Heal the Bay is working on several levels to help end the pollution that runs off city streets and onto our beaches.  We work to educate people about disposing of trash properly, picking up after their pets and using garden chemicals sparingly and wisely.  We operate the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, which educates the general public about the organisms that are affected by urban runoff and marine debris. We also work on a legislative level to encourage regulations that will help solve the problem of urban runoff. And, we spend hundreds of hours on the beaches themselves, picking up trash that could otherwise sicken or kill marine life.

Another serious problem still facing Santa Monica Bay is that of habitat destruction and overfishing. Throughout the state, several fish stocks have crashed, causing many fisheries to be closed or severely limited. The majority of fishing throughout the state occurs in Southern California - together, Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego Counties account for over half the recreational fishing activity in California.  Heal the Bay believes that the solution to this problem lies with MPAs, or Marine Protected Areas.  MPA’s are made up of three types of protected areas:  1) State Marine Parks, which prohibit commercial fishing, but allow recreational fishing; 2) State Marine Conservation Areas, which allow limited commercial and recreational fishing; and 3) Marine Reserves, which completely prohibit the harvest of marine life and alteration of marine habitats.

Historic approaches to fisheries management have not adequately protected California’s fish stocks, as reflected by the decimated populations of rockfish, abalone, and other species. Contrary to traditional management strategies, which only control certain activities or protect marine life on a single-species basis, MPAs take an ecosystem-based approach by protecting marine habitats and the marine life that live within those habitats. MPAs, and specifically marine reserves protect sea life and their underwater habitats in a way that regulations focused on one or two species cannot. By prohibiting or restricting fishing in certain areas of the sea, localized marine creatures within each MPA are given refuge.

As a result, marine life living within MPAs are often more diverse, abundant, and larger in size. Populations within MPAs can also seed neighboring waters where harvest is allowed. Additionally, predatory animals, such as marine mammals and sharks can benefit from MPAs through increased availability of food.

The network of MPAs at the Northern Channel Islands that was created in 2003 has already shown benefits. Marine life, like lobster and sheephead, are larger and more abundant within the MPAs and kelp forests have increased. This protection status has shown no significant impact on the fishing industry. Sportfishing efforts and some commercial catch at these islands has actually increased.  

Habitat destruction is another serious problem in the Santa Monica Bay. Kelp beds throughout the Santa Monica Bay have declined substantially since the early 1900s, leaving less habitat for those fish and other animals that make the kelp forest their home. Human impacts can also be seen in the intertidal zone within the tidepool environment. Numerous visitors flock to these amazing windows on the sea, and unfortunately, some of those visitors do serious damage before they leave. By inadvertently stepping on animals that live on the rocks, disturbing organisms by touching them or picking them up, or even collecting shells as souvenirs or shellfish for dinner, people are having a very real and devastating impact on tidepools. It’s absolutely imperative that we all interact responsibly when visiting the tidepools—including watching where we step, not touching, moving or otherwise disturbing organisms, and helping other visitors to do the same.

You can help continue to protect Santa Monica Bay by making ocean-friendly choices in your own life: from the fish you eat, to the products you buy, and the way you enjoy your local beach. For more information, visit Ways to Heal, or to learn more about MPAs, visit our MPA page.