Duxbury Reef State Marine Conservation Area

cliffsides adjacent to exposed rock sea floor

Overview

Duxbury Reef State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) sits at the southern end of the Point Reyes peninsula, just a mile west of Bolinas in Marin County. Despite being one of the smallest marine protected areas (MPAs) on the California coast at less than three-quarters of a square mile in area, this SMCA hosts one of the largest shale reefs in North America. Duxbury Reef was selected for inclusion in the statewide MPA network in part due to the extensive tidepool network that forms on the shale reef at low tide.

Numerous intertidal animals live in the tidepools, including turban snails, anemones, sea stars, small fishes such as blennies, and nudibranchs, which are tiny, colorful sea slugs. Today, the tidepools remain one of the most expansive and accessible examples of intertidal habitat in the region, due to the wide, flat intertidal zone that exposes a diverse array of creatures to extreme environmental conditions. The reef is named for the schooner Duxbury, a three-masted ship loaded with gold-seekers that wrecked on the reef in 1849.

Regulations

It is unlawful to injure, damage, take, or possess any living, geological, or cultural marine resource, EXCEPT:
Recreational take of abalone, and finfish from shore only, is allowed. Please note that the abalone fishery is closed until at least 2026.

California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 632(b)(50)(opens in new tab)

Quick Facts

MPA size: 0.69 square miles

Shoreline span: 2.8 miles

Depth range: 0 to 10 feet

Habitat composition*:

  • Rock: 0.06 square miles
  • Sand/mud: 1.52 square miles

*Habitat calculations are based on three-dimensional area and may exceed the total MPA area listed above.

About Duxbury Reef State Marine Conservation Area

Photo Gallery

30 AUG
2022

Lined chiton in Duxbury Reef SMCA

0

1 2 3 4 5
photo © A. Young, CC BY-NC 2.0

Showing 0 Comment

Marine Region (Region 7)
Regional Manager: Dr. Craig Shuman
Main Office: 20 Lower Ragsdale Drive, Suite 100, Monterey, CA  93940
Email CDFW's Marine Region  |  (831) 649-2870
Office Locations  |  Marine Blog  |  Subscribe