The goal of PRBO's Farallon Island project is to understand, protect and conserve the island ecosystem and its globally significant marine bird and mammal populations.

CA Marine LIfe Protection Act (MLPA) and the Farallon Islands
Click here to view online maps of seabird and marine mammal feeding areas around the Farallon Islands, as well as to download fact sheets about the Farallon Islands.
Visit www.dfg.ca.gov/MLPA to provide comments on the current proposals for marine protected areas in the North Central Coast by April 22, 2007.

Salmon, Seabirds, and the State of the Ocean

For over 30 years PRBO scientists have provided year-round stewardship to wildlife on these islands through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. PRBO's intensive research has produced the longest data set on seabirds and marine mammals in North America and hundreds of scientific publications, reports and popular articles. This information lays the foundation for understanding, protecting, and conserving this vital component of the California Current marine ecosystem.

Southeast Farallon Island-"Galapagos" of the U.S. West Coast:

The Farallon Islands are home to the largest seabird and marine mammal colonies in the continental United States south of Alaska. Established as a National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in 1909, the Farallones and surrounding ocean environment have been recognized by the United Nations and governmental agencies as a site of hemispheric biological importance and have been designated as an International Biosphere Reserve, a National Marine Sanctuary, and a State Ecological Reserve. For more information, maps, and images of the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge, download a copy of US Fish & Wildlife Service's Farallon NWR brochure. To read more about the Farallon NWR and PRBO's science, visit our In the News page.

PRBO's research on the Farallones and surrounding ecosystem has resulted in the establishment of: Three national marine sanctuaries and an International Biosphere Reserve, and a state ecological reserve. The 1993 California law protecting white sharks, a vital top predator in marine ecosystem dynamics; and, The 1985 campaign that ended gill net fishing and the catastrophic mortality of seabirds and marine mammals off California's central coast.

Los Farallones, A Slice of Life on Southeast Farallon Island: Click here to read about daily life on the Island from the resident biologists' point of view!