SoCal SpearfishingMarine protected areas
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Mainland coast, Point Conception to Goleta. Shore entry or boat from Santa Barbara.

The Santa Barbara coast

Five protected areas from Point Conception to Goleta. Three take nothing at all. Naples allows white seabass and the named pelagics by spear only. Kashtayit, at Gaviota, allows general finfish and most invertebrates.

The next three mornings

Is it worth getting out of bed?

Reading the forecast for every spot…

Wind, 7–11 am
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Swell
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Surge at 30 ft
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Visibility
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Water
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Next tide
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First light
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Rain, 3 days
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What divers actually saw

Loading reports…

Get a ping the evening before Santa Barbara looks good

Go means wind under 8 kt, under 3 ft of swell reaching the spot and under 1.5 ft of surge at 30 ft, every hour from 7 to 11 am. Rules of thumb, not a safety call: how each spot is judged. Visibility is not in the verdict, because no feed measures it at the spot: the Vis column shows a diver’s report from the last 48 hours when there is one, and otherwise an estimate from satellite water clarity, surge and rain.

The water itself

5 protected areas, and what each one allows

Every boundary is CDFW’s and every rule is quoted in full on the card, with its section of CCR Title 14 §632(b) and the date it was read.

Kashtayit State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) — Finfish take allowed · CCR §632(b)(97)Goleta Slough State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA (No-Take)) — No take in the water · CCR §632(b)(100)Point Conception State Marine Reserve (SMR) — No take in the water · CCR §632(b)(96)Naples State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) — Pelagic species · CCR §632(b)(98)Campus Point State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA (No-Take)) — No take in the water · CCR §632(b)(99)5 nm
No take in the water Pelagic species Finfish take allowed Ring: the label is not the whole rule (Kashtayit, Naples) — read the cardPins are USGS GNIS named places, good to about 100 m — a reference for the spot, not a drop point.

These four labels are this chart’s shorthand for five separately written regulations. Each area is governed by its own section of CCR Title 14 §632(b), named when you hover it. The rules differ area by area and change — check CDFW before you take anything.

Somewhere else in mind? Tap the open water to drop your own mark.

Tap the spots you’d actually get on a boat for. No commitment — it tells us which water to plan the first season around.

  • The rule, in CDFW’s words · §632(b)(96)

    Point Conception State Marine Reserve

    It is unlawful to injure, damage, take, or possess any living, geological, or cultural marine resource.

  • The rule, in CDFW’s words · §632(b)(96)

    Point Conception State Marine Reserve

    It is unlawful to injure, damage, take, or possess any living, geological, or cultural marine resource.

  • Outside every protected area — general California regulations apply.Nearest is Naples State Marine Conservation Area, about 220 m away — only pelagic species may be taken inside it.

MPA boundaries: California Department of Fish and Wildlife, ds582. Regulations: CDFW per-MPA pages, retrieved 2026-10-04. Spot positions: USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names, California), public domain.

Area by area

Can you spear here?