Recreational lobster season opened at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2, and it runs through Wednesday, March 17, 2027. Thirteen days after the opener, the California Fish and Game Commission voted to move forward a proposal that would someday end lobster harvest, spearfishing and boat fishing across roughly nine square miles off Carpinteria. That area includes Carpinteria Reef, Horseshoe Rock and Horseshoe Kelp.
Two things about that vote matter more than the headlines. It changed nothing on the water this season. And the next version of the map will be drawn by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the agency that recommended the Commission deny the proposal.
What the Oct. 15 vote did
The Commission granted the petition for the proposed Mishopshno State Marine Conservation Area "in concept." Coastal View News and the Santa Barbara Independent both reported the vote as 3–2. The commissioners did not create a marine protected area that day. They sent the idea into a longer process. In its Oct. 23 release, the Department of Fish and Wildlife said granted petitions must still go through California Environmental Quality Act review and standard rulemaking before they take effect.
Carpinteria resident Jaime Diamond, who owns Stardust Sportfishing with her husband, Capt. Jason Diamond, has been active in opposing the proposal. She summed up the near-term effect plainly to Coastal View News. "What does this mean today? Nothing," she said. "Nothing has changed from last week to this week." She told the paper she expects the process to take 18 months to two years. That is her estimate. No official implementation date has been announced.
The rules on the reef this winter, and the rules on paper
The table compares what applies today with what the petition would allow if it were adopted exactly as written. That second column is the version most likely to change.
| Activity off Carpinteria Reef | 2026–27 season, current rules | Under the petition as written |
|---|---|---|
| Recreational lobster, by hand or hoop net | Open through March 17, 2027 | Not allowed |
| Boat-based fishing, including charters | Allowed under existing regulations | Not allowed |
| Spearfishing | Allowed under existing regulations | Not allowed |
| Hook-and-line finfishing from shore | Allowed | Allowed |
| Surfing, swimming, kayaking, diving | Allowed | Allowed |
For this season, CDFW's lobster page lists a bag and possession limit of seven and a minimum carapace length of 3¼ inches. According to the department's 2026–27 season newsletter, lobster can be taken by hand or hoop net but not with traps, snares or spears. Hoop-net rules that took effect Jan. 1, 2026 bar tampering with another person's net and bar line markings unique to other West Coast fisheries. Report cards are due April 30, after the season closes. This is general information, not legal advice. Fishing regulations are set and enforced by the state, so anyone heading out should confirm the current rules with CDFW directly.
Who drew the first map, and who draws the next one
The petition's first date is Nov. 30, 2023, and its most recent amendment took effect April 15, 2026. It was filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council, with the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians and the Environmental Defense Center as co-sponsors. Its shoreward limits run from about Caspia Lane in Summerland to Franklin Creek. Diamond described the same stretch in terms people on the water would recognize: "everything from the mouth of the estuary to Loon Point."
The name comes from Mishopshno, the Chumash coastal village at Carpinteria. Santa Ynez Chairman Kenneth Kahn told commissioners that the village is tied to the building of tomols, the traditional plank canoes, and to the sacred story of the Rainbow Bridge that connects the Chumash people to the Channel Islands. Coastal View News reported his remarks:
"Our connection to the ocean is a living relationship stretching back thousands of years, carrying with it a responsibility to protect these waters and the life they sustain."
The state's own agencies split on the proposal. The California Ocean Protection Council supported moving it forward, citing ecological connectivity and cultural benefits. CDFW recommended denial. In its July 2026 evaluation, the department said allowing shore fishing would give the area a "moderate-low" protection level. At that level, CDFW said, it would not improve the network's design. The department also raised potential economic impacts and suggested a State Marine Cultural Preservation Area as an alternative.
The Commission's decision summary grants a roughly nine-square-mile conservation area with shore hook-and-line finfishing. It then directs CDFW to develop the boundaries in line with its MPA design feasibility guidelines. The same summary does not spell out the tribal harvest exemption that the petition requested. So the coordinates and the Caspia Lane line people have been debating since spring are the petitioners' proposal. Whatever reaches a public hearing will be the department's version of it.
Where the reef sits among its neighbors
CDFW's spacing argument is easier to follow with the nearby protected areas laid out. On the mainland, the closest are to the west, and they allow very different things:
- Goleta Slough SMCA: no fishing or harvest of any kind.
- Campus Point SMCA: no-take.
- Naples SMCA: recreational spearfishing for white seabass and listed pelagic finfish, plus commercial take of giant kelp.
- Kashtayit SMCA: recreational take of finfish, giant kelp by hand, and invertebrates other than rock scallops and mussels.
CDFW's county directory lists no mainland marine protected areas in Ventura County. Its entries there are Begg Rock and Anacapa Island, both offshore. By the department's measure, Mishopshno would sit 14.6 miles from Campus Point and 44.1 miles from the Point Dume cluster. The existing gap of about 60 miles already falls within the science guideline of 31 to 62 miles, so CDFW found no current design deficiency in the region.
Supporters weigh that same stretch of coast differently. The petition says its aims are better spacing and connectivity, protection of habitat used by marine wildlife including juvenile white sharks, and recognition of Chumash heritage at Mishopshno.
Two readings of the same water
The split was visible well before October. At the May hearing in Goleta, Noozhawk described supporters in blue shirts reading "Marine Protected Areas for us ALL" and opponents in green shirts reading "Fishing Access IS Equitable Access." Toni Cordero, an enrolled member of the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation, supported the proposal at that hearing and asked that non-federally recognized tribes be included in harvesting access. Santa Barbara Harbor Commissioner Michael Nelson asked the Commission to wait for consultation and a socioeconomic analysis, noting that the port fleet supports 500 jobs.
In October, the Independent reported that Devin O'Dea of the Coastal Conservation Association of California called Mishopshno the last spot he had fished near UCSB that was not already a marine protected area. Coastal View News reported that Carpinteria resident Ian Thomas, a longtime fisherman, spearfisherman and diver who testified at two Commission meetings, is concerned about Fish for Life. The program takes children with special needs and disabilities on fishing trips, and Thomas said the reef's closeness to shore makes it a good destination for participants who may be uneasy going farther out. No changes to the program have been announced.
Tribal harvest access is the open question that both sides keep returning to. According to Coastal View News, Natalie Landreth, an attorney for the Santa Ynez Band, told commissioners the exemption request relies on existing state rules that let members of federally recognized tribes petition for harvest within certain protected areas. She said other federally recognized tribes can petition too. She also said the tribe is pursuing a co-management agreement that would bring representatives of non-federally recognized tribes into management, though not into harvest exemptions. Thomas said he remains concerned about equal access for Carpinteria residents and for tribes without federal recognition.
The steps between this week and any new rule
According to CDFW, the remaining sequence looks like this:
- CDFW develops boundaries under its design feasibility guidelines.
- Environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act, which Coastal View News reports will include environmental and socioeconomic effects.
- Public notice of the proposed regulation.
- A discussion hearing before the Commission.
- An adoption hearing. The rules take effect only after adoption.
No Mishopshno hearing date has been announced. The Commission's next regular meeting is Dec. 15–16, 2026, at the East End Complex auditorium at 1500 Capitol Ave. in Sacramento, with Zoom and phone options. The 2027 calendar lists full meetings on Feb. 10–11, April 14–15, June 9–10, Aug. 18–19, Oct. 13–14 and Dec. 15–16. Any boundary proposal and hearing notice for Carpinteria Reef will show up on those agendas.
Until then, the current lobster season runs on current rules through March 17. If shoreline questions like these come up while you're thinking about your own home here, we're glad to talk them through. At Alisa Pepper & Bill Urbany, we follow the coast from Summerland to Carpinteria closely and can help you understand where your property fits.
