San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park

The underwater park originally spanned 6,000 acres (24 km2) of ocean bottom and tidelands, including La Jolla Cove.

With four distinct habitats (rocky reef, kelp bed, sand flats, and submarine canyon), the area remains a popular destination for snorkelers and scuba divers.

[1] The origins of the park date back to 1929 when the state of California set aside a "marine life refuge" to protect the submerged and intertidal area near Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The project was spearheaded by the San Diego Council of Divers, led by Harold F. Riley, to protect marine resources threatened by over-fishing.

"[6] In 1981, the San Diego City Council extended the boundaries of the ecological reserve to include La Jolla Cove.

[7] In 1978, Dr. Bert Kobayashi designed and implemented a survey of the Ecological Reserve, funded by the California State Water Resources Control Board, that detailed the topography and marine life of the area.

La Jolla Cove is part of the Matlahuayl State Marine Reserve that covers just over one square mile from shore to depths greater than 330 feet, protecting a mix of sandy beaches, rocky intertidal areas, surfgrass beds, rocky reefs, sea caves, and submarine canyon habitat.

California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 632(b)(142) San Diego-Scripps Coastal Marine Conservation Area: It is unlawful to injure, damage, take, or possess any living, geological, or cultural marine resource, EXCEPT: Recreational take of coastal pelagic species except market squid (northern anchovy, Pacific sardine, Pacific mackerel, and jack mackerel), by hook-and-line only is allowed.