Seafloor Character, Offshore Monterey, California

The California State Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) calls for protecting representative types of habitat in different depth zones and environmental conditions. A science team, assembled under the auspices of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), has identified seven substrate-defined seafloor habitats in California’s State Waters that can be classified using sonar data and seafloor video and photography. These habitats include rocky banks, intertidal zones, sandy or soft ocean bottoms, underwater pinnacles, kelp forests, submarine canyons, and seagrass beds.