Annual Coast and Ocean Report & New Report Card
OPC’s work is guided by the Strategic Plan to Protect California’s Coast and Ocean: 2020-2025. We are committed to reporting annually on implementation of our strategic priorities and providing an overview of critical issues and stressors impacting California’s coast and ocean. Read our annual reports for a retrospective of activities and accomplishments, plus indicators in our 2022 and 2023 reports that provide a snapshot of coast and ocean health in California.
Coming in 2026, OPC will release a Report Card that uses a scientific, indicator-based approach to grade California’s coast and ocean health. See below for more details and engagement opportunities.
The California Coast and Ocean Report Card
The first ever California Coast and Oceant Report Card will use a scientific, indicator-based approach to grade the health of California’s coast and ocean. As called for in the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan (Objective 3.6),the Report Card is intended to serve as a tool to inform the public and decision-makers about the status of the ocean and to highlight areas where the state can focus solutions. The process of developing the Report Card will identify data gaps to inform future monitoring investments. The Report Card is being developed through a partnership between OPC, Ocean Science Trust, and the West Coast Ocean Alliance.
Approach
The Report Card will include biological components, physical stressors, and human dimensions, in recognition that the coast and ocean are part of a complex, social-ecological system. This is an initial draft list of indicators that will be refined with additional input and as the scoring methodologies are further developed:
Biodiversity
Seabirds
Fishes
Kelp
Mammals
Rocky Intertidal
Wetlands
Seagrass*
Invasive Species*
Physical Stressors
Ocean Acidification
Ocean Warming
Sea Level Rise
Harmful Algal Blooms*
Marine Debris*
Human Dimensions
Ocean Economy
Coastal Access
Beach Water Quality
Equity
Sea Level Rise Impacts*
Beaches*
Indicators with an * are tentative and pending data availability
How was this list developed?
In February 2024, an initial list of indicators was developed by the OPC Science Advisory Team. This initial list was refined through thoughtful and iterative dialogue with partners focused on relevance, data availability, and OPC priorities. The list will be further refined based on additional feedback from the Council, expert discussions, California Native American tribes, and the public.
Integrating equity into coastal and ocean science and research is a priority for OPC. The process of integrating equity into the Report Card is guided by OPC’s Equity Plan and being developed collaboratively with ocean equity and environmental justice experts from across the country, and with the advice of the Environmental Justice Advisory Board for California’s Coast and Ocean.
Working groups of subject matter experts from across California, including tribal scientists and knowledge holders, are developing metrics for these indicators and scoring the metrics using data from existing monitoring programs.
Partnerships
- As a member of the West Coast Ocean Alliance, OPC is coordinating the Report Card closely with the West Coast Ocean Health Dashboard, a similar indicator-based approach to scoring ocean health in California, Oregon, and Washington.
- The OPC Science Advisory Team, Environmental Justice Advisory Board, and other state agencies are providing valuable input on an ongoing basis to promote scientific rigor and policy relevance.
- The Report Card is being collaboratively developed with contributions from many UC and CSU scientists, existing observation and monitoring programs, federal and state agencies, and NGOs.
- OPC and OST are actively pursuing opportunities to meaningfully partner with California Native American tribes on the development of the Report Card. This will include, at a minimum, two rounds of tribally-focused listening sessions as well as the solicitation of tribal scientists and knowledge holders to join expert working groups.
Timeline & Opportunities to Provide Public Input
To receive timeline updates with events and opportunities for public engagement, please sign up for the OPC newsletter.
Fall 2024
- OPC and OST are seeking public input on the Report Card indicators and accepting expressions of interest in contributing data and other resources to the Report Card.
- Fill out the submission form online (hosted by OST). Monday, December 9, 2024 is the priority deadline for input, but the survey will remain open through 2025.
- There will be two optional virtual office hours as an opportunity to ask questions about the indicators and how the Report Card is being developed:
- Expert groups convene bi-weekly to develop indicators.
- OPC and OST will host a tribally-focused listening session. (Estimated: December 2024 – February 2025)
February 2025
- Early draft Report Card presented at the February 27, 2025 Council Meeting, piloting the Report Card design and indicator scoring approach, and offering an opportunity for public comment and feedback.
Winter – Spring 2025
- Further development of indicators and metrics.
December 2025 – February 2026
- Report Card complete and shared publicly.
OPC and OST Staff Contacts
Justine Kimball
Senior Climate Change
Program Manager
Justine.Kimball@resources.ca.gov
Jill Harris, PhD
Senior Science Fellow
Ocean Science Trust
Jill.Harris@oceansciencetrust.org