OFR 03-85

Nearshore Benthic Habitat GIS for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and Southern California State Fisheries Reserves Volume 1

Guy R. Cochrane, Nicole M. Nasby, Jane A. Reid, Ben Waltenberger, Kristen M. Lee

The nearshore benthic habitat of the Santa Barbara coast and Channel Islands supports diverse marine life that is commercially, recreationally, and intrinsically valuable. Some of these resources are known to be endangered including a variety of rockfish and the white abalone. Agencies of the state of California and the United States have been mandated to preserve and enhance these resources. Data from sidescan sonar, bathymetry, video and dive observations, and physical samples are consolidated in a geographic information system (GIS). The GIS provides researchers and policymakers a view of the relationship among data sets to assist scienctific research and to help with economic and social policy-making decisions regarding this protected environment.

See OFR 03-85 in its entirety.