Dive Access and Regulations ·
California Advances Two New Coastal MPAs—but Dive Restrictions Are Not Yet in Force
The Fish and Game Commission granted petitions for the Mishopshno and Point Sal conservation areas on October 15. Their proposed no-take rules would affect spearfishing and collecting, while ordinary non-extractive diving remains compatible—but a future rulemaking and effective date are still required.
California’s Fish and Game Commission voted October 15, 2026, to grant petitions for two Chumash-led State Marine Conservation Areas off Santa Barbara County: the 9.05-square-mile Mishopshno SMCA near Carpinteria and a 9.18-square-mile SMCA near Point Sal.
The vote is an important approval, but it does not make the new restrictions immediately enforceable. Commission staff documents say granted petition actions will be placed on the agency’s rulemaking calendar for development and future consideration. No effective date has been announced. Until that process is completed, divers should follow the currently published California MPA boundaries and regulations rather than treating the proposed areas as active closures.
Under the granted Mishopshno petition, injury, damage, take or possession of living, geological or cultural marine resources would be prohibited inside the final boundary, except for recreational finfish fishing by hook and line from shore and qualifying tribal take by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. The Point Sal petition proposes a similar general prohibition, with exceptions for recreational finfish fishing by hook and line from shore and take incidental to mission-critical operations at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
For divers, the practical distinction is between access and extraction. The proposals do not announce a blanket ban on scuba diving, freediving, dive boats or non-contact underwater photography. If adopted through rulemaking, however, spearfishing, lobster hunting, shell collecting and other underwater take would be prohibited unless a specific exception applies. Operators and divers should also wait for final regulatory maps before relying on boundary descriptions.
Neither petition creates a diver fee, reservation system or general anchoring prohibition in the materials reviewed. The proposals focus on take of marine, geological and cultural resources. Separate park, harbor, sanctuary and navigation rules would continue to apply.
Naturally Buoyant Media should update this story when the Commission publishes proposed regulatory text, opens the formal rulemaking record or sets an effective date. Until then, the accurate status is approved for rulemaking—not yet in force.
Reporting record