MPA Spotlight: Matlahuayl SMR & San Diego-Scripps Coastal SMCA – Where Kelp Forests, Sharks, and People Meet
July 31, 2026
By: Skye Porter
Matlahuayl SMR & San Diego-Scripps Coastal SMCA
Diving into rich kelp forests teeming with biodiversity, exploring tidepools, hitting the surf, visiting “shark city,” or just lounging in the sun, Matlahuayl State Marine Reserve (SMR) – whose name comes from the Kumeyaay language and means ‘land of many holes or caves’ – and San Diego-Scripps Coastal State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) have it all.
Located along the La Jolla coastline, these two Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are part of California’s statewide MPA network and support an incredible diversity of marine life. With more than 2 million people visiting La Jolla Shores each year, these protected waters play an important role in balancing public access with the conservation of marine ecosystems. Let’s take a closer look at what makes these MPAs so unique.
“Shark City” & Kelp Forest Life
Just offshore of La Jolla Cove, the nickname “Shark City” suddenly feels well-earned. Each summer and fall, large numbers of schooling leopard sharks gather in the shallow water, creating one of the most unique wildlife viewing opportunities along the Southern California coast. Many of these sharks are pregnant females that use the warm waters of La Jolla Shores as a nursery area, where warmer temperatures can accelerate embryo development and shorten gestation time.
Leopard sharks are a smaller species of shark that eat invertebrates and small bony fish and pose no known threat to humans. Their presence draws in snorkelers and kayakers hoping to catch a glimpse of the hundreds that come to gather in the shallows of La Jolla. The surrounding kelp forest supports far more than just sharks – species like lingcod, white seabass, and giant black sea bass move through the reef, while rays and flatfish traverse the sandy seafloor below.
Tidepools to Deep Sea
The rocky intertidal, or tidepools, are one of the most accessible ways to experience the biodiversity of these MPAs. At low tide, visitors can spot anemones, sea stars, octopuses, barnacles, and nudibranchs within shallow pools. Because these areas are so easy to explore, they’re also especially vulnerable, making it important to look only with your eyes, not your hands.
Offshore, the environment shifts as the La Jolla and Scripps Submarine Canyons drop off, creating steep, cold, and low-light conditions that blur into a completely different world. Soft corals can be found along the canyon walls, while species like swell sharks, rockfish, and moray eels move through the reef. Above the canyon, jellyfish and other pelagic species drift through the water column, supported by nutrient-rich upwelling that fuels the entire ecosystem.
People & History
For thousands of years, Native American tribes in California have maintained deep connections to the coast, relying on marine and coastal resources for food, materials, and cultural practices. Many Tribes continue these relationships today, harvesting within their ancestral territories and carrying on longstanding traditions. In the La Jolla area, the Kumeyaay and Luiseño people have lived along this coastline for generations, shaping it and leaving behind invaluable archaeological sites. These connections continue today through Tribal Nations across San Diego County, which contribute to the region through cultural preservation, environmental stewardship, education, and advocacy for the protection of natural resources. San Diego County is home to 18 federally recognized Tribal reservations and 17 Tribal governments.
The San Diego-Scripps Coastal SMCA is named after Ellen Browning Scripps, a journalist and philanthropist who moved to La Jolla in the late 1800s. Located next to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, this area builds on a long history of marine protection. In fact, this stretch of coastline was first protected in 1929, making it California’s oldest MPA. At the time, the submerged and intertidal areas near Scripps were closed to collecting, except for scientific research. The site later became part of the San Diego Marine Life Refuge in 1957, and was eventually expanded into the San Diego–Scripps Coastal SMCA in 2012 as part of California’s modern MPA network which is internationally awarded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature on their Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas.
Recreation & Monitoring
There’s no shortage of ways people use these MPAs. On calmer days, the water fills with swimmers, kayakers, paddle boarders, and boats, while divers take advantage of what many consider some of the best dive sites in Southern California. When the swell picks up, surfers head to breaks along the coast, especially Black’s Beach just to the north. Alongside diving and exploration, fishers frequent the shores to get lucky with the allowed hook-and-line fishing for certain pelagic species. This type of fishing is allowed within the San Diego-Scripps Coastal SMCA. However, be sure to stay north of the Scripps Pier, as the Matlahuayl SMR is fully protected, meaning no take of any marine resources is permitted.
With so much activity concentrated in a relatively small area, understanding how people are using these spaces becomes just as important as understanding the ecosystems we are part of.
This is where programs like MPA Watch come in. At sites like Matlahuayl SMR and the San Diego–Scripps Coastal SMCA, trained volunteers collect data on how people are using the coast – whether that’s kayaking through the kelp, snorkeling in “shark city,” surfing, or fishing along MPA boundaries.
This data shows how these spaces are realistically used over time. MPAs are designed to protect marine ecosystems, but they’re also spaces to foster meaningful connection to the ocean. By tracking human use, MPA Watch helps managers, researchers, and communities better understand how to balance recreation with conservation.
The Matlahuayl SMR and San Diego-Scripps Coastal SMCA are unique for the many ways life above and below the surface share this space. With thoughtful use and careful monitoring, these waters can continue to sustain both vibrant ecosystems and the communities that are drawn to them.
Source: Information adapted from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Marine Protected Areas webpage: https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/MPAs/San-Diego-Scripps-Coastal-Matlahuayl#621534482-recreation
Other Sources:
“La Jolla.” California Marine Protected Areas, californiampas.org/archives/portfolio-item/la-jolla. Accessed 5 June 2026.
“4 Tribal Nations of San Diego County.” San Diego Integrated Regional Water Management, 2013, www.sdirwmp.org/pdf/SDIRWM_04_Tribal_Nations_Sep2013.pdf.
Image credit: Daina Buchner
