September 25, 2023

Conserving 30% of California’s Coastal Waters by 2030: Progress Update

California’s coastal waters are home to species and habitats found nowhere else on Earth. Our iconic coastal and marine ecosystems – from sandy beaches and wave-swept rocky shorelines to lush kelp forests and deep submarine canyons – hold tremendous cultural […]

Categories: 30x30, Equity and Environmental Justice, Event, Kelp, Marine Protected Areas, Outreach and Education, Strategic Goal 2: Equity, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Ecosystems, Tribal Engagement

July 10, 2023

Help the Kelp: How Innovative Science and an Unprecedented New Investment Will Inform the Future of Kelp Restoration in California

California’s iconic underwater forests are under threat from climate change. From 2014-2019, more than 95% of the bull kelp off our state’s northern coastline disappeared following a record-breaking marine heat wave and an explosion in kelp-eating purple sea urchin populations. […]

Categories: Funding Opportunities and Updates, Kelp, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Ecosystems

May 19, 2023

Call for Nominations: Kelp Restoration and Management Plan Working Group – Apply by June 9

YOU can help protect California’s kelp forests! We’ve partnered with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) in the early planning stages of developing a statewide, ecosystem-based, adaptive Kelp Restoration and Management Plan (KRMP) for giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) […]

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

October 7, 2022

Updates from the October 6, 2022 Council Meeting

The October 6 Ocean Protection Council (OPC) meeting was an exciting and moving gathering. State and federal agencies, tribes, non-profit and business partners, and members of the public joined together with joyful tears and cheers in support of landmark decision-making […]

Categories: Funding Opportunities and Updates, Kelp, OPC Meetings, Strategic Goal 2: Equity, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity

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

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

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

June 15, 2022

Impact Science

By Mark Gold, D.Env. Yesterday, the OPC hosted its first in-person meeting in more than two years. Like all state agencies, we are trying to figure out the new normal with hybrid meetings – good online participation, but a public […]

Categories: Aquaculture, Kelp, OPC Meetings, Sea-Level Rise, Strategic Goal 1: Climate Change, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Strategic Goal 4: Sustainable Blue Economy, Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Ecosystems

May 26, 2022

Ocean Protection Council Meeting — June 14, 2022 — Teleconference and Public Forum

The Ocean Protection Council will hold a hybrid public meeting via teleconference and in a public forum at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14, 2022.  

Categories: Climate Change, Funding Opportunities and Updates, Kelp, OPC Meetings, Sea-Level Rise, Strategic Goal 1: Climate Change, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Ecosystems

April 14, 2022

California’s efforts to protect and restore kelp featured in new restoration guidebook and global review

A unique kelp restoration pilot project on California’s north coast has been featured in The Nature Conservancy’s new Kelp Restoration Guidebook. This guidebook was authored by an expert panel with support from managers, scientists, and restoration practitioners. It highlights kelp […]

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