The Farnsworth Marine Conservation Areas emerged from California's Marine Life Protection Act Initiative, a statewide effort to create a network of protected zones along the coast. In December 2010, the California Fish and Game Commission adopted 36 new marine protected areas for the south coast region, including the Farnsworth Onshore and Farnsworth Offshore SMCAs. The boundaries were not drawn by distant bureaucrats but by the South Coast Regional Stakeholder Group, local residents who understood these waters intimately. Their task was delicate: preserve sensitive marine life while maintaining recreation, study, and fishing opportunities. The south coast protections took effect in 2012.

The two conservation areas protect a mosaic of marine habitats: dense kelp forests that sway in the currents, emergent boiler rocks that break the surface, and sandy flats that stretch between reef structures. Rocky reef habitat supports a dense community of invertebrates, fish, and marine mammals. Garibaldi, California's state marine fish, flash orange among the kelp fronds. Rockfish hover in schools around the reef edges. Octopuses hunt in crevices while nudibranchs crawl across rocks in their improbable colors. Gorgonians, the sea fans, filter nutrients from the passing water. Bat rays cruise the sandy bottom, and kelp bass patrol their territories.

Farnsworth Bank gives these conservation areas their name and their fame. The underwater pinnacle rises from deep water to within 50 feet of the surface, its walls and ledges covered in purple hydrocoral, a rare species that requires cool, nutrient-rich water and takes decades to grow. Advanced scuba divers consider Farnsworth Bank one of the best dive sites on the West Coast, though the depth and currents demand experience and preparation. The Offshore SMCA extends three nautical miles from shore, encompassing the bank and the deep water around it. Within these boundaries, the take of most marine life is prohibited, though recreational fishing for certain pelagic species remains allowed.

The Farnsworth SMCAs represent a philosophy of managed access rather than total exclusion. Recreational spearfishing for Pacific bonito and white seabass is permitted. Trolling for marlin, tunas, and dorado remains legal. Commercial fishermen can still pursue coastal pelagic species with round haul nets and swordfish with harpoons. The restrictions target the species and practices that most threaten the reef ecosystem while allowing sustainable use of migratory fish that pass through. Scientists monitor select marine protected areas along the south coast to track their effectiveness. Similar studies in the Santa Barbara Channel Islands have already detected improvements in fish size and abundance within protected boundaries.