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September 7, 2022

Harmful Algal Bloom in San Francisco Bay Results in Aquatic Mortality, Fish Kills

Waters in San Francisco Bay have turned reddish-brown this summer due to a multi-week harmful algal bloom (HAB) identified as Heterosigma akashiwo, an invasive species of marine algae responsible for some of the ‘red tides’ that are toxic to fish […]

Categories: Outreach and Education, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Water Quality
September 1, 2022

Fishing for Research: OPC Staff and the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program Team Up in Point Lobos

By Stacy Hayden, Communications Manager It was a calm Friday at 6:30 a.m. when we left the dock on the vessel New Horizon from Old Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey. At the helm was charter boat Captain John Klusmire leading a […]

Categories: Marine Protected Areas, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Ecosystems
August 19, 2022

MPA Monitoring Series: Ask the Researcher, Part 4: Estuaries and Mid-Depth Rocky Habitat

In the final “Ask the Researcher” webinars held in August, participants discussed important MPA monitoring projects in estuarine habitats and mid-depth rocky habitats. To learn more about this exciting summer series and the previous webinars, check out: Ask the Researcher, Part 1: […]

Categories: Marine Protected Areas, Outreach and Education, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity
August 11, 2022

DCTF Executive Committee Conference Call – August 25th, 2022

The Dungeness Crab Task Force Executive Committee will hold a Conference Call on August 25th, 2022, at 2:00 PM. Read the agenda…

Categories: Dungeness Crab Task Force, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Ecosystems
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: Marine Pollution, 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: Kelp, 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: Marine Pollution, Plastic Pollution, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity