Council Adopts Resolution on Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia
A Resolution on Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia was adopted by the Ocean Protection Council at its March 3, 2025 Council meeting to elevate and communicate the state’s commitment to addressing ocean acidification and hypoxia (OAH). The actions within this Resolution reflect and build upon ongoing efforts to understand and mitigate OAH, given the potential for OAH to cause large or irreversible effects on California’s coast and ocean.
Over the past decade, OPC made significant investments to advance understanding of OAH off California’s coast, consistent with the West Coast OAH Science Panel Major Findings, Recommendations, and Actions and California Ocean Acidification Action Plan. This includes the development of a coupled physical-biogeochemical model for the West Coast to help managers better predict and understand the impacts of OAH in California. The model also assesses the extent to which local nutrient levels exacerbate acidified and hypoxic ocean conditions, leading to waters that are too acidic or lack sufficient oxygen to support vulnerable marine life. Recent model results have shown that in the Southern California Bight, land-based nutrient inputs are contributing to OAH and impacting the health of California’s marine environment, with implications for ecologically and economically important marine species. OPC continues to pursue additional questions to better understand these impacts, advance monitoring of OAH off California’s coast, and expand the state’s understanding of OAH along the entire coast of California.
This Resolution commits OPC to the following actions:
- Invest in and advance monitoring and research. To advance scientific understanding of OAH causes and impacts, identify and evaluate coastal pollutants contributing to OAH, and strengthen monitoring and observation systems statewide to further knowledge of current and future OAH conditions and inform nutrient management.
- Support development of water quality objective(s) and program on implementation. To address OAH impacts to ensure the reasonable protection of California’s coastal and ocean ecosystems and their beneficial uses, support the development of one or more water quality objectives and associated program of implementation by the State Water Resources Control Board, based on the best available science, including observational and modeling data, and consistent with the precautionary principle.
- Advance and inform nutrient management approaches. To increase understanding of effective nutrient interventions, inform and support improved management of land-based nutrients, and carefully invest public funds through early collaboration and information sharing with external stakeholders to address and mitigate OAH.
- Seek opportunities to advance multi-benefit infrastructure upgrades for water recycling. To ensure infrastructure upgrades and water recycling are feasible, will meet water quality objectives, address aging infrastructure challenges, and advance OAH and nutrient remediation efforts to protect the beneficial use of California ocean waters.
Visit OPC’s Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia webpage to learn about our role in protecting communities and ecosystems from OAH.
