BILL ANALYSIS �
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| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Fran Pavley, Chair |
| 2011-2012 Regular Session |
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BILL NO: AJR 20 HEARING DATE: July 3, 2012
AUTHOR: Huffman URGENCY: No
VERSION: September 9, 2011 CONSULTANT: Bill Craven
DUAL REFERRAL: No FISCAL: No
SUBJECT: Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine
Sanctuaries boundary Modification and Protection Act.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
Federal law establishes the National Marine Sanctuary System and
within that system, the Gulf of Farallones National Marine
Sanctuary was established in 1981 and the Cordell Bank National
Marine Sanctuary was established in 1989. The two sanctuaries
are both located north of San Francisco offshore of Sonoma and
Mendocino counties.
PROPOSED LAW
This Assembly Joint Resolution would urge Congress to adjust the
boundaries of these two sanctuaries as proposed in pending
federal legislation. Under H.R. 192 (Woolsey) and S. 179 (Boxer)
the Gulf of the Farallones sanctuary would be expanded from 966
square nautical miles to 1,521 square nautical miles. The
Cordell Bank sanctuary would be expanded from 399 square
nautical miles to 962 square nautical miles and would thus
extend offshore for the entire Sonoma County coast. Existing
federal law would be maintained thus expressly not affecting
fishing activities, shipping, boating, or diving. Existing
federal law does prohibit new oil and gas exploration, although
present activities, if any, would not be affected.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
According to the author, these two sanctuaries contain some of
the most important marine habitat in the world. They are home to
some of the largest concentrations of white sharks and blue
whales on Earth, along with one-fifth of California's breeding
harbor seals and hundreds of thousands of breeding seabirds.
Gulf of the Farallones sanctuary includes numerous estuaries,
bays, and beaches for the public to enjoy. At Cordell Bank, an
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underwater mountain rises to within 115 of the ocean's surface
off Point Reyes which contributes to the upwelling of
nutrient-rich deep water. This ocean upwelling is one of only
four in the world which, when combined, produce 20% of the
world's fish. This area is an extremely productive feeding
destination for many ocean species including whales, dolphins,
sea lions, seabirds, rockfish, and salmon.
The pending federal legislation would include the remainder of
the Sonoma coast, and part of southern Mendocino County. A
congressional and executive moratorium on offshore oil
exploration was removed in 2008 leaving these waters of special
biological significance unprotected.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
None received.
SUPPORT
Environmental Action Committee
Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association
Marin County Board of Supervisors
Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Town of Fairfax
OPPOSITION
None Received
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