OPC awards $6 million for projects advancing ocean & coastal management in California

At its October 25, 2018 meeting, the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) unanimously approved 24 research projects totaling $6 million in funding through the Proposition 84 Competitive Grants Program. The projects support state priorities focused on stewardship and management of California’s ocean and coastal resources in the areas of: ocean acidification and hypoxia; sustainable fisheries and aquaculture; sea-level rise adaptation and coastal resilience; coastal sediment management; marine pollution; and marine renewable energy.

The research projects were selected through a competitive process based on criteria developed by OPC in alignment with its mission and priorities. California Sea Grant and the University of Southern California Sea Grant facilitated the review panel process and will administer project grants on behalf of OPC.

Communities and economies throughout California depend on a healthy ocean and coast. Using the best available science to inform management decisions is critical to preserve ecosystems and livelihoods. Results from these projects will enable resource managers, decisionmakers, and the general public to develop and implement science-based strategies to increase environmental and economic sustainability in the face of a changing climate.

California Sea Grant is administering 12 of the 24 projects in the areas of ocean acidification and hypoxia, and sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. University of Southern California Sea Grant is administering the remaining 12 projects in the areas of sea-level rise adaptation and coastal resilience, coastal sediment management, marine pollution, and marine renewable energy. Links to project descriptions are below.

Sea-Level Rise Adaptation and Coastal Resilience

• U.S. Geological Survey for “Coastal flooding projections and socioeconomic impacts due to sea-level rise and storms for the north coast using the Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS)”
• U.S. Geological Survey for “Groundwater inundation hazards and socioeconomic impacts due to sea-level rise across the California coast”
• Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego for “Tribal Intertidal Digital Ecological Surveys (TIDES) Project: Using large-area imaging to assess intertidal vulnerability to sea-level rise with coastal indigenous nations”
• State Coastal Conservancy for “Humboldt Coastal Resilience Project (HCRP): Analyzing beach-dune morphodynamics and vegetation controls on coastal resiliency to develop decision support tools and adaptation measures for sea-level rise and extreme events along the Eureka Littoral Cell, Northern California”

Coastal Sediment Management

• Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego for the “Statewide assessment of California cliff erosion and retreat”
• Coastal Environments, Inc. for “Using green engineering techniques to restore coastal sand dunes at Border Field State Park, San Diego”

Marine Renewable Energy

• University of California, Santa Cruz for “Wave Energy Conversion in California under the present and future Climate and economic feasibility analysis of different technologies (WE3C)” and
• University of California, Berkeley for the “California Offshore Wind: Workforce and Grid Integration Analysis”

Marine Pollution

• University of California, Santa Cruz for “Linking Terrestrial Pollution to Estuarine Water Quality: Quantification of the role of groundwater in the transport, transformation, and removal of agricultural pollutants in Elkhorn Slough”
• University of Southern California for “Multiple Stressors and Toxic Pseudo-nitzschia Blooms in California Waters: Understanding the Complex Interactive Impacts of Nutrients, Temperature, and Carbonate Chemistry”
• San Jose State University for “Advancing Portable Detection Capabilities of Harmful Algal Bloom Species in California Waters”
• University of California, Davis for “Interaction between microplastics and pathogen pollutants in marine ecosystems: Implications for seafood safety”

Ocean Acidification, Hypoxia & Other Changes in Ocean Conditions from a Changing Climate

• University of Washington for “An ecophysiological framework to assess hypoxia driven habitat loss in the California Current Ecosystem”
• University of California, Santa Barbara for “Benefits beyond biomass: Bio-physical feedbacks within Marine Protected Areas may promote ecosystem resilience in the face of global climate change”
• San Francisco State University for “Present and future climatic drivers of domoic acid toxicity in coastal ecosystems of California”
• University of California, Davis for “Geography of stress: Impacts of ocean acidification along the California Coast”
• University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center for “Understanding ocean warming impacts on shrinking body sizes of California fishes: Linking pattern & mechanism to support future sustainable fisheries”
• University of California, Davis for “Assessing the combined effects of ocean acidification and warming on disease susceptibility and restoration success of the critically endangered white abalone”

Sustainable Fisheries & Aquaculture

• Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research for “Habitat characterization, fishery development and stock structure of swordfish off California”
• San Diego State University for “A multi-faceted approach to enhance sustainability of the California spiny lobster fishery”
• Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego for “Reconstructing the population dynamics of southern California Paralabrax species in the face of a changing ocean”
• University of California, Davis for “Improving management under the Marine Life Management Act (MLMA) by accounting for effects of Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on fisheries”
• Moss Landing Marine Labs at San Jose State University for “Sea Feeds: Identification and culture of Californian marine macroalgae capable of reducing greenhouse gas production from ruminant livestock”
• Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego for “A DNA metabarcoding approach to monitoring fish spawning and population connectivity in Coastal Southern and Central California”