July 26, 2022

MPA Monitoring Series: Ask the Researcher, Part 3: California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program and Commercial & CPFV Fisheries 

In the 5th and 6th “Ask the Researcher” MPA monitoring series webinars held in July, we discussed the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program (CCFRP) and Human Dimensions: Commercial & Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel (CPFV) Fishing. To learn more about this exciting […]

Categories: Marine Protected Areas, Outreach and Education, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity

July 25, 2022

DDT – A Never Ending Story

By Mark Gold, D.Env. In 1962, Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking Silent Spring exposed the devastating environmental harm caused by synthetic pesticides including DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane). In the book, she wrote, ”How could intelligent beings seek to control a few unwanted species by a method […]

Categories: Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Ecosystems, Water Quality

July 22, 2022

An Underwater Snapshot of Kelp Health in Monterey

By Michael Esgro, Senior Biodiversity Program Manager & Tribal Liaison It was 2013 in Monterey when I learned to scuba dive – one year before a record-breaking marine heatwave arrived off the California coast, bringing with it a “perfect storm” […]

Categories: Habitats, Kelp, Marine Habitats, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity

July 19, 2022

2022 MPA and Climate Solicitation Updates

We are pleased to announce a new solicitation for grant proposals for projects benefitting California’s ocean and coast, made possible with funding from Proposition 68, Chapter 9. This is the first competitive call for Chapter 9 funds. The priority issue area […]

Categories: Funding Opportunities and Updates, Grant Projects, Marine Protected Areas, Strategic Goal 1: Climate Change, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity

July 1, 2022

MPA Monitoring Series: Ask the Researcher, Part 2: Ocean Observing Systems and Sandy Beach Ecosystems 

June marked the second set of OPC’s “Ask the Researcher” MPA monitoring webinar series! In the 3rd and 4th webinars, we discussed Ocean Conditions Observing Systems and Sandy Beaches and Surf Zone Ecosystems. To learn more about this exciting summer series, […]

Categories: Marine Protected Areas, Outreach and Education, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity

July 1, 2022

A Reckoning for Plastic Pollution

By Mark Gold, D.Env. By now, everyone in the nation, if not globally has heard about California’s groundbreaking new circular economy and plastic pollution reduction law: SB 54. Senator Ben Allen, an OPC council member, authored the bill and received […]

Categories: Plastic Pollution, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Water Quality

June 30, 2022

A Great Day for OA (Ocean Acidification)

By Mark Gold, D.Env. Wednesday morning at the UN Ocean Conference started with a session entitled, “Interactive Dialogue: Minimizing and Addressing Ocean Acidification, Deoxygenation and Ocean Warming”. Not exactly a title that inspires confidence that major action was on the agenda (I […]

Categories: Climate Change, Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia, Strategic Goal 1: Climate Change, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity

June 28, 2022

Urchin Removal on the North Coast Shows Promising Results for Kelp Forest Restoration

June 28, 2022 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mike Esgro, (818) 917-6468, Michael.Esgro@resources.ca.gov Urchin Removal on the North Coast Shows Promising Results for Kelp Forest Restoration Fort Bragg, Calif. – An unprecedented partnership on California’s north coast has concluded with the […]

Categories: Habitats, Kelp, Marine Habitats, Press Releases, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Ecosystems

June 27, 2022

UN Ocean Conference Kickoff

By Mark Gold, D.Env. Sunday night, the Oceano Azul Foundation hosted the 2022 United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference kickoff at the Lisbon Oceanarium. The president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, delivered a powerful speech making it clear that war […]

Categories: 30x30, Climate Change, Marine Protected Areas, Strategic Goal 1: Climate Change, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity

June 16, 2022

MPA Monitoring Series: Ask the Researcher, Part 1: Kelp and Rocky Intertidal Ecosystems

OPC’s “Ask the Researcher” MPA monitoring webinar series officially launched in May! This summer series highlights key monitoring results from the marine protected area (MPA) monitoring program, connecting audience members directly to California’s leading MPA scientists who describe their research […]

Categories: Habitats, Kelp, Marine Habitats, Marine Protected Areas, Outreach and Education, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity