April 25, 2023

Updates from the April 24, 2023 Council Meeting

The April 24 Ocean Protection Council (OPC) meeting moved several efforts forward into next steps and introduced new efforts toward protecting California’s coast and ocean in 2023. Action items on the agenda supporting OPC’s Strategic Plan goals were all passed […]

Categories: Aquaculture, Equity and Environmental Justice, Funding Opportunities and Updates, Grant Projects, Marine Protected Areas, OPC Meetings, Plastic Pollution, Strategic Goal 1: Climate Change, Strategic Goal 2: Equity, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Water Quality

March 16, 2023

OPC and California Sea Grant Microplastic Research Program Request for Proposals

The California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) and California Sea Grant are seeking applications for two separate research calls to advance microplastics understanding and management in California, consistent with the priorities outlined in the California Ocean Litter Strategy and Statewide Microplastics Strategy. Proposals should […]

Categories: Funding Opportunities and Updates, Plastic Pollution, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Water Quality

January 19, 2023

Deep Ocean DDT+ Contamination in Southern California

New Report and Research Funding Opportunity from Sea Grant and University of Southern California A Deep Ocean DDT+ Research Needs Assessment for the Southern California Bight January 2023 The University of Southern California (USC) Sea Grant Program and the California […]

Categories: Funding Opportunities and Updates, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Water Quality

October 26, 2022

Registration Open: California Ocean Litter Strategy Webinar

Join the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program for a bi-annual California Ocean Litter Strategy webinar. The webinar will include updates and developments from federal and California agencies on research and […]

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

September 7, 2022

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

September 2022 – 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 […]

Categories: Harmful Algal Blooms, Outreach and Education, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Water Quality

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 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 10, 2022

California and Canada Partner to Advance Bold Action on Climate and Biodiversity

Building on California’s global leadership on biodiversity and climate, and following the partnership established with New Zealand last month, Governor Gavin Newsom and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau announced a new partnership on June 9 to advance bold action […]

Categories: 30x30, Climate Change, Plastic Pollution, Strategic Goal 1: Climate Change, Strategic Goal 3: Biodiversity, Water Quality

June 7, 2022

California Ocean Litter Strategy Workshop: June 21 and June 22

Registration is open for the California Ocean Litter Strategy Implementation Workshop! This virtual workshop will take place Tuesday, June 21st from 10:00 AM – 2:30 PM and Wednesday, June 22nd from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM (Pacific Time). Join federal […]

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