Federal marine advisers set to meet in Cambria

A prominent group of federal marine advisers will meet in Cambria on Friday, Oct. 21, covering topics as diverse as whale entanglement, plastic-bag bans and citizen science.

The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council will convene at 9 a.m. in the Coast Unified School District Board Room at the Old Grammar School, 1350 Main St.

The meeting is expected to last until late afternoon, with a lunch break in the middle. Margaret “P.J.” Webb of Cambria is the council’s chairwoman.

The meeting is expected to include: A presentation about the sanctuary’s southern region; letter of support to National Park Service for proposed California Current Conservation Complex World Heritage site; report on State Dungeness Crab Working Group, which is working to reduce whale entanglement in nets and traps; resolution reaffirming previous resolution on plastic-bag ban; and a presentation on sanctuary citizen-science programs.

The sanctuary extends from Marin County south to Cambria, and often is described as the “Serengeti of the Sea.” It is one of the nation’s largest marine sanctuaries, larger than Yellowstone National Park.

According to www. mbnms.nos.noaa.gov, the area protected by the national marine-sanctuary designation includes 276 miles of shoreline, 6,094 square statute miles of ocean water, many tide pools, kelp forests, steep canyon and the Davidson Seamount, an undersea mountain teeming with life.

The deepest point is 12,713 feet, or more than two miles, below sea level.

The sanctuary’s habitats harbor a wide variety of marine life, “including 34 species of marine mammals, more than 180 species of seabirds and shorebirds, at least 525 species of fishes and an abundance of invertebrates and algae.”

This story was originally published October 19, 2016 at 9:52 AM with the headline "Federal marine advisers set to meet in Cambria."