Point Fermin | MARINe

Click here for Long-Term trends

Click here for Biodiversity Survey findings

Point Fermin is located in the South Coast region of California. This site is near the San Pedro Fishing Pier Mussel Watch site. This gently sloping site consists of moderately uneven terrain, containing few cracks and folds.

Point Fermin is dominated by a mixture of consolidated sandstone and basalt bedrock and boulder fields, and the area surrounding the site is comprised of a mixture of consolidated bedrock, boulder fields, and sandy beach. The primary coastal orientation of this site is southeast.

Long-Term Monitoring Surveys at Point Fermin were established in 1999, primarily funded by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. The site was sampled by University of California Los Angeles through 2018, and is now monitored by California State University Fullerton and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Long-Term MARINe surveys currently target the following species and/or areas: Chthamalus/Balanus (Acorn Barnacles), Mytilus (California Mussel), Silvetia (Golden Rockweed), Rock (Above Barnacle), Phyllospadix (Surfgrass), and Pisaster (Ochre Star). In addition, motile invertebrates and mussel size structure are monitored at this site. Click here to view Long-Term trends at this site.

Biodiversity Surveys were done in 2001, 2012, 2019, 2021, and 2022. The Biodiversity Survey grid encompasses two sections that are approximately 18 meters (along shore) x 50 meters (seaward), and 9 meters (along shore) x 50 meters (seaward). Click here to view Biodiversity Survey findings at this site.

This site is also regularly surveyed by LiMPETS (Long-term Monitoring Program and Experiential Training for Students) which is an environmental monitoring and education program for students, educators, and volunteer groups. You can access site specific data from this citizen scientist and educational broad scale trend monitoring program.

Voucher specimens of selected invertebrate and seaweed species were collected from this site by California State University Fullerton in 2018. The MARINe vouchering effort was designed to collect and archive samples of species that are monitored using MARINe protocols. Archived samples from this site at the Smithsonian Institution (invertebrates) and University of California Berkeley Herbarium (algae) are identified as BOEM-MARINE-PTFM-110618.

For more information about Point Fermin, please contact Jennifer Burnaford (jburnaford@Fullerton.edu) and Jayson Smith (jaysonsmith@cpp.edu).