Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary
M2 Deployed Here!
Location Summary
The west side of Santa Cruz Island, particularly Carrington Point State Marine Reserve, Skunk Point State Marine Reserve, and the Santa Rosa Island Channel, is logistically difficult to monitor given distance from the mainland and geographic location. These MPAs are important for species whose home range, behavior, reproduction, exploitation rate, or population status indicates that they may benefit from management in this region. These species are directly targeted by fisheries, can be caught through bycatch, and may be indirectly impacted through ecological changes within the MPAs. The M2 system deployed on Santa Cruz Island was fully autonomous and deployed on the west side of Santa Cruz Island overlooking the channel between Santa Cruz Island and Santa Rosa Island. The site was retired in 2022 due to the need for system and structure updates, but all data collected by retired systems remain accessible for users interested in historical analysis.
