Morro Bay State Marine Reserve/State Marine Recreational Management Area

Approaching from a distance, the first indication a visitor is near Morro Bay is the appearance of Morro Rock on the horizon. Formed approximately 23 million years ago, Morro Rock stands more than 575 feet tall and is the most visible in a chain of volcanic plugs in the area, remnants of extinct volcanoes.

Situated about 600 feet south of Morro Rock is the beginning of an approximately four-mile-long sandspit that protects Morro Bay from direct exposure to ocean waves. This protection helped to create Morro Bay Estuary, a semi-enclosed body of water that covers 2,300 acres. Cold seawater enters the estuary through a small inlet near Morro Rock and mixes with fresh water from Chorro and Los Osos creeks. The mix of fresh and salt water creates unique habitats including beaches, tidal flats, marshes and eelgrass beds. Morro Bay's eelgrass beds moderate currents and wave action, and filter and decontaminate the bay’s water.

While Morro Bay serves as an important resting and foraging ground for migratory birds, it is also a year-round home for many animals that rely on the sheltered waters for food and breeding grounds. California brown pelicans search for fish, rafts of southern sea otters float on their backs with pups on their bellies, and bat rays glide over the shallow mudflats at high tide. Invertebrates such as Pacific oysters, Washington and gaper clams, ghost shrimp, and shore crabs inhabit the mudflats. Fishes including topsmelt, shiner perch, bay pipefish, and Pacific staghorn sculpin also make their homes here. The dense meadows of eelgrass found within the SMR and the SMRMA are nursery grounds for rockfish, flatfish, and a variety of invertebrates, and serve as an important resting and foraging area for the black brant, a small goose that feeds on eelgrass. Morro Bay Estuary is also home to more than a dozen threatened or endangered species such as the Morro shoulderband snail, California red-legged frog, and California black rail.

For centuries, Native American Tribes in California have relied on marine and coastal resources. Many continue to regularly harvest marine resources within their ancestral territories and maintain relationships with the coast for ongoing customary uses.

The Chumash have occupied Morro Bay for thousands of years, and once had a large, long-term settlement above the mouth of Morro Creek. Archeological records of Chumash inhabitants reveal evidence of a complex society spanning the coast from Malibu in the south to Morro Bay in the north, including the Channel Islands. The estuary provided the Chumash with abundant food and other natural resources. In coastal areas, natural resources were so plentiful that many villages existed continuously on their original sites for as long as 9,000 years. The tomol, a traditional Chumash redwood plank canoe, provided essential transportation for trading and fishing.

The first recorded European exploration of the area occurred in 1542, when Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo arrived in the area and named Morro Rock “El Morro”, meaning crown-shaped hill. Settlement began in the late 1700s with the Spanish Portola expedition, which traveled down the Los Osos Valley from modern day San Luis Obispo bringing agriculture, ranching, and missions to the area.

The town of Morro Bay was founded in 1870 to support the export of dairy and ranch products. Today, the commercial fishing fleet lands fresh catches of halibut, sole, rockfish, and albacore at the docks in Morro Bay, while commercial aquaculture operations grow oysters in the shallow back bay. Charter boats take recreational anglers out on the ocean to catch many of the same species sought by the commercial fleet. The town has also become a tourist destination for those seeking a beach holiday.

The Morro Bay SMR and SMRMA offer many recreational opportunities such as kayaking, paddle boarding, birdwatching, snorkeling, and swimming. On land, the miles of trails in the area make Morro Bay a great place for hiking and observing wildlife; be sure to bring binoculars for observation. Visitors often catch glimpses of dolphins, seals, sea lions, and southern sea otters, and birdwatchers can rejoice with more than 200 species visiting the area, and up to 20,000 shorebirds stopping to feed on the mudflats throughout winter. Whale watching is one of the most popular attractions outside the bay, with humpback, gray, minke, and blue whales frequently observed from charter boats.

No take of any kind is permitted within Morro Bay SMR, while recreational hunting of waterfowl is allowed in the SMRMA, along with recreational fishing for finfish in the northern portion of the SMRMA. The southern portion of Morro Bay SMRMA is off limits to take of any marine resources.

Morro Bay SMR

This area includes the area below mean high tide line within Morro Bay east of longitude 120° 50.340′ W.

California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 632(b)(92)(opens in new tab)

Morro Bay SMRMA

This area includes the area below mean high tide within Morro Bay east of the Morro Bay entrance breakwater and west of longitude 120° 50.340′ W.

Take of all living, geological, or cultural marine resources is prohibited except certain specified activities are allowed north of latitude 35° 19.700′ N. (See link below or "Regulations" section above for a list of allowed activities).

California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 632(b)(91)(opens in new tab)

Downloads for Morro Bay State Marine Reserve

Map

Facts, Map & Regulations

Downloads for Morro Bay State Marine Recreational Management Area

Map

Facts, Map & Regulations