MARINE STEWARDSHIP AREA

MSA Elements
MSA Description and Background
NEW! MSA Planning Process in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and the Northwest Straits Initiative.
Marine Stewardship Area Map documenting areas of environmental concern and the accompanying guidelines and regulations.
Marine Stewardship Area Map in PDF
Marine Stewardship Area Map Workbook shows these areas in detail (2.8 MB).

MSA Description and Background
During 2003, the San Juan County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) developed a proposal for a San Juan County Marine Stewardship Area, a Regional Marine Protected Area initiative. In accordance with the 2004 MRC work plan approved by the Board of County Commissioners, we will further develop the countywide Marine Stewardship Area within which smaller areas will have different levels of protection. The overall goal of the marine stewardship area is to protect the unique and valuable marine resources of the islands while allowing sustainable use of marine resources to continue forever.

There are two phases to developing the guidelines for the San Juan County Marine Stewardship Area. During the first phase, completed in 2003, we proposed to the BOCC and they approved that the entire county be declared a marine stewardship area based on rules, regulations, and voluntary protections already in place. Currently all county waters are regulated as to fishing, shoreline development, boating, and many other activities. Portions of the islands are restricted from access as federal wildlife refuges. The San Juan County MRC has established zones where fishing for bottomfish is restricted on a voluntary basis. Several of the Indian Tribes and the State of Washington have closed other areas at the request of the University of Washington for marine research reserves.

The first step in this process was to recommend that the BOCC establish a San Juan County Marine Stewardship Area to recognize these existing protections. This step was important for a number of reasons. It acknowledges that there are numerous protections in place for county waters, and it is a clear statement that the county wants these protections to stay in place. By establishing the countywide Marine Stewardship Area residents and visitors will be more aware of existing regulations and voluntary protections. Without establishing any new regulations we feel that protection of the San Juan County marine ecosystem can be enhanced in this way.

During the second phase in 2004, we are soliciting input from Indian Tribes, county residents, non-resident landowners, visitors, and others with an interest in the county's marine ecosystems. A key component of the outreach effort will hopefully be two-way communication with local Indian Tribes having usual and accustomed fishing rights and management authority in the islands. We will seek to include indigenous knowledge and traditions both for developing the broad outlines of our proposals as well as for specific implementation actions. We hope that everyone interested in the sustainability of the San Juan County marine ecosystem will help by participating in our outreach sessions.

The second phase is for the MRC, guided by public input, to closely look at our adopted goals, develop specific objectives, and determine what additional protections are necessary to achieve those objectives. The results of this work will be the designation of specific areas within the marine stewardship area where different levels of voluntary or regulatory protection could be established in a coordinated effort to meet the goals. For example, certain beaches important to forage fish spawning may be recommended for protection from runoff impacts due to upland development, certain rocky reef areas necessary to sustain long-lived rock fish populations may be recommended for protection from fishing impacts, and certain areas important for Orca whales may be recommended for protection from boating impacts. We hope that, under the umbrella of a county-wide marine stewardship area with clearly stated goals, specific implementation actions such as these can be accepted as necessary steps toward achieving these goals.

The BOCC adopted the Marine Stewardship Area on January 28th, 2004.