Updates from the March 3, 2025 Council Meeting

The March 3, 2025, Ocean Protection Council (OPC) meeting advanced initiatives across OPC’s Strategic Plan goals, including adopting a resolution on ocean acidification and hypoxia, funding for sea level rise adaptation planning, enhancing management of marine protected areas (MPAs), and supporting climate-ready fisheries management. These efforts aim to provide tangible benefits for all Californians by enhancing environmental and economic health and resilience against climate change across diverse communities and habitats statewide.

During the meeting, the Council approved several significant action items supporting OPC’s strategic goals:

Resolution on Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia: The Council adopted a Resolution to address the causes and impacts of ocean acidification and hypoxia, elevating OPC’s commitments and priorities to mitigate ocean acidification and hypoxia by: highlighting the need for collaborative efforts across state and local agencies, investing in ongoing research and monitoring, and informing actionable strategies, including nutrient management, to reduce the impacts of ocean acidification on California’s coastal communities and marine ecosystems.

Senate Bill 1 Sea Level Rise Adaptation Planning Grant Program: Up to $2,792,000 to support sea level rise adaptation planning projects under the SB 1 Grant Program. These projects will enable local and regional governments to prepare for and strengthen coastal resilience to sea level rise:

Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District: Up to $1,392,000 to support the development of a Subregional Shoreline Adaption Plan.
Stinson Beach County Water District: Up to $300,000 to expand data collection, mapping, and vulnerability assessments into Bolinas for the previously approved “Stinson Water Adaptation Plan for a Community Wastewater System” project.
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians: Up to $1,100,000 to complete a detailed vulnerability assessment across Chumash village sites to inform and support tribal consultation in local sea level rise adaptation planning.

Management of California’s Marine Protected Area Network: Up to $4,540,000 to advance the management of California’s MPA Network. These projects will inform adaptive management and contribute to enhancing sustainable fisheries and climate resilience for California communities:

Marine Applied Research and Exploration Group (MARE) and the University of California Santa Barbara: Up to $1,660,000 for continued ecological monitoring of deep rocky reef habitats in the MPA Network in 2025 and 2026.
San Jose State University: Up to $1,380,000 for continued ecological monitoring in the MPA Network in 2026 via the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program (CCFRP).
California Marine Sanctuary Foundation: Up to $750,000 for continued research on understanding social dimensions of ocean access and MPAs across California’s coastal counties.
Resources Legacy Fund: Up to $500,000 for the expansion of MPA Watch program to better understand human uses in MPAs and factors that affect MPA compliance.
MPA Collaborative Network: Up to $250,000 for the engagement and empowerment of underrepresented communities in MPA management.

Climate-Ready Fisheries Management: Up to $2,400,000 to the Resources Legacy Fund for the administration of the following projects to modernize data collection and advance climate-ready fisheries management with near real-time data.

Up to $2,095,000 to conduct an electronic reporting and electronic monitoring pilot project for four commercial fisheries.
Up to $305,000 to implement electronic data collection for the California Recreational Fisheries Survey.

Ocean Science Trust Science Advisor Grant (Augmentation): Up to $310,000 to the Ocean Science Trust to administer scientific working groups providing guidance on coastal and marine restoration in a changing climate. The funding will also support the development of a social science research and monitoring framework for California’s MPA network.

Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (Augmentation): Up to $75,000 to the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project to support post-wildfire monitoring in the Los Angeles region, enhancing efforts to inform debris removal, support ecosystem recovery and restoration, and protect and improve coastal and marine water quality.

The meeting also included informational items highlighting the following:

2024 Annual Report & California Coast and Ocean Report Card: OPC staff presented the 2024 Annual Report with updates on progress toward OPC’s Strategic Plan goals. Staff from Ocean Science Trust provided an update and example for the upcoming California Coast and Ocean Report Card – a scientific, indicator-based approach to grade and understand the health of California’s coast and ocean. The Report Card will serve to inform the public and decision-makers about the status of the coast and ocean and to highlight areas where the state can improve monitoring and focus solutions.

Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR) Considerations for California: OPC staff presented considerations specific to California for various marine carbon dioxide removal approaches, including the feasibility and potential carbon benefits of each technology, cost, maturity, and site-specific environmental impacts.

Executive Director Report & Staff Updates

At this meeting, OPC Deputy Director Kaitlyn Kalua, standing in for Executive Director Jenn Eckerle, shared efforts by OPC to support post-wildfire water quality monitoring in the Los Angeles Region, and provided updates on the development of OPC’s 2026-2030 Strategic Plan, including the successful series of listening sessions held to gather public input. She also welcomed Kyla Kelly as OPC’s new Water Quality Program Manager. Kyla joined OPC in February 2025 and will lead efforts to protect and improve coastal and marine water quality. Other personnel updates included the transition of Abby Mohan to OPC’s Senior Offshore Wind Program Manager. Abby previously served as OPC’s 30×30 Program Manager since June 2023 and will now lead OPC’s work to support responsible offshore wind development in California. In addition, Deputy Director Kaitlyn Kalua announced that Anh Diep transitioned to the California Natural Resources Agency’s Tribal Affairs Program in January 2025, after serving as OPC’s 30×30 Program Manager. Read the Executive Director’s Report for other program updates.

View the full March agenda and associated documents on the meeting webpage. The recording is also available:

Next Meeting

The next OPC Quarterly Public Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 10, 2025, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., with both in-person and Zoom participation options available.

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