A little something different this month…

We Need YOUR Input! Take the OPC Engagement + Partnerships Survey!

OPC invites you to participate in a survey to help strengthen coast and ocean protection efforts and ensure that programs and funding opportunities are accessible, inclusive, and community-informed. Your feedback will help shape how OPC engages with communities, invests resources, and supports coastal and ocean stewardship across California.    

The survey is open to all — whether you have engaged with OPC before or are learning about it for the first time. 

The survey will be open through July 20, 2025. 

Thank you for helping OPC build a more resilient, inclusive, and thriving coast and ocean for all. 

Microplastics are everywhere: in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the seafood we eat. These tiny particles originate from many sources. However, a study in the San Francisco Bay found that both microfibers from textiles and particles from tire wear are among the most common microplastic sources, making these two industries a priority to address in California’s efforts to reduce pollution and protect public and environmental health.    

In March 2025, the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) hosted two science-based workshops to develop practical strategies for reducing microplastic pollution from these sectors. The workshops support California’s Statewide Microplastics Strategy.  

The textile workshop, held in partnership with Materevolve LLC through an OPC grant, explored the full lifecycle of textiles—from materials and design to laundering and disposal—to identify voluntary actions, research priorities, and long-term policy opportunities.  

The tire workshop, held in partnership with the Ocean Science Trust, focused on innovations in tire materials, design, and on-vehicle tire wear collection devices that could reduce pollution.  

The workshop outcomes and recommendations were summarized in reports that will help to inform California state agencies and legislative actions towards preventing, addressing, and researching microplastic pollution in partnership with industry, academia, and NGOs.  

•  The textile workshop report is available.  

•  The tire workshop report will be available on our Plastic Pollution webpage by late May 2025.  

More workshops are on the horizon, focusing on aquaculture and fisheries, single-use foodware and packaging, and agriculture—part of OPC’s commitment to a cleaner, healthier future for all Californians.  

Kyla Kelly, Water Quality Program Manager

Kyla joined OPC in February 2025 as the Water Quality Program Manager. Her portfolio includes ocean acidification and hypoxia, harmful algal blooms (HABs), plastics, and other emerging contaminants. Prior to joining OPC, she spent a year in Washington, DC as a Knauss Fellow with NOAA’s Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing Program, developing an Ocean Carbon Observing Science Plan. Kyla earned her Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, studying the impacts of climate change on HABs in the California Current System. She also holds a B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of New Haven. In her free time, she enjoys being outside hiking, cycling, scuba diving, or having a cozy day inside knitting, and crocheting.

“As OPC’s Water Quality Program Manager, my portfolio covers ocean acidification and hypoxia (OAH), marine debris, and harmful algal blooms. I am excited about a current collaborative project between the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and the University of California, San Diego. This work is expanding our knowledge of the causes of OAH and its impacts on economically and ecologically important species and California’s marine ecosystems. This collaboration has facilitated the coordination of three different OAH chemical sampling efforts and has added biological measurements to study how OAH impacts Dungeness crab and pteropod shells. I have really enjoyed seeing the success of this coordinated network, and I am looking forward to seeing how these results can help us inform and improve management of OA.”