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: Habitats, Kelp, Marine Habitats, 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, Habitats, Kelp, Marine Habitats, OPC Meetings, Strategic Goal 2: Equity, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity

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: Habitats, Marine Habitats, Marine Protected Areas, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Ecosystems

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

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 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

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

December 31, 2021

OPC’s Year in Review: Meeting Challenges, Advancing Equity, Protecting Our Ocean

“As we look to 2022, our goal at the agency is to… continue California’s global leadership, combating climate change, transitioning our economy, and protecting our people and nature in the meantime. I believe strongly that people are resilient and that […]

Categories: 30x30, Aquaculture, Climate Change, Coastal Habitats, Equity and Environmental Justice, Grant Projects, Habitats, Marine Habitats, Marine Protected Areas, Plastic Pollution, Sea Level Rise, Strategic Goal 1: Climate Change, Strategic Goal 2: Equity, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Strategic Goal 4: Sustainable Blue Economy, Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Ecosystems, Water Quality

September 7, 2021

California Biodiversity Day 2021 – Get Involved!

As a state, California boasts both the highest number of species total and the highest number of species that occur nowhere else. Our state’s animal and plant life is so varied that we’ve been named as one of 36 Global […]

Categories: 30x30, Climate Change, Coastal Habitats, Funding Opportunities and Updates, Habitats, Kelp, Marine Habitats, Marine Protected Areas, Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia, OPC Meetings, Outreach and Education, Plastic Pollution, Sea Level Rise, Strategic Goal 1: Climate Change, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Ecosystems, Water Quality