for what it's worth, I live in California, and I have some interest in marine ecosystems, but I'm not sure I understand what you're looking for. I don't actually know too much about specific conservation measures... fortunately, much of the California coast is protected by virtue of having more economic value for aesthetic reasons than resource exploitation, with the notable exception of the oil industry around Santa Barbara and Long Beach. I'm not sure about the impact the Navy has down in San Diego, either.
There are a lot of historical concerns about various populations, but most have been addressed to some extent. Sea otter populations are on the rise after a brush with extinction, and limits on abalone and lobster takes have kept them at a sustainable level. I heard a few years ago that harvesting of California purple sea urchins for sushi was having an impact to some degree, but my impression is that they are a very resilient population. I seem to recall that things got somewhat out of balance between the otters, the abalone, and some other species, so reduced predation had led to overpopulation of something that eats kelp (maybe those same purple urchins) but I don't remember the details. My impression is that corrective measures seem to be allowing a recovery, at least to some extent, but I haven't been following the details. The off-shore fisheries at "Cannery Row" collapsed badly in the 30s or 40s, and I'm not really sure what the modern consequences of that have been, though.
Fujisawas Sake has studied a lot of this sort of thing, but he hasn't been around TONMO much lately.
- M