Point Buchon State Marine Reserve and Marine Conservation Area

Within the SMCA fishing and take of all living marine resources is prohibited except the commercial and recreational take of salmon and albacore.

[2] These two marine protected areas adjoin each other off the coast of San Luis Obispo County.

Point Buchon is an area with documented high diversity and abundance of fish and seabirds, remarkably clear water, underwater pinnacles, and some of the shallowest coldwater corals in the Central Coast.

The exceptionally high quality habitats found at Point Buchon support diverse assemblages of nearshore and deep rocky reef fish species, as well as intertidal invertebrates, seabird colonies and marine mammals.

[6] Nearby Montana de Oro State Park features hiking, biking and equestrian trails.

California's marine protected areas encourage recreational and educational uses of the ocean.

Similar studies in marine protected areas located off of the Santa Barbara Channel Islands have already detected gradual improvements in fish size and number.

[8] Local scientific and educational institutions involved in the monitoring include Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station, University of California Santa Cruz, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Research methods include hook-and-line sampling, intertidal and scuba diver surveys, and the use of Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) submarines.