Recent csgc_ext items

Readying California Fisheries for Climate Change

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This document provides scientific guidance to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) regarding the potential impacts of climate change on California fisheries and recommendations for building resilience to buffer climatic forces. At CDFW’s request, the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) provided funding to the Ocean Science Trust (OST) to convene an OPC Science Advisory Team (OPC-SAT) Working Group with relevant ecological, social science, and governance expertise. This guidance was prepared by OST and the OPC-SAT Working Group in partnership with CDFW, in adherence with the requirements in the OPC Staff Recommendation: “California State Fisheries Management: Current Efforts and Future Needs.” This project was developed for consideration by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to help inform the state’s process to amend the Marine Life Management Act (MLMA) Master Plan. Products from this project have been submitted to CDFW for review and...

Binational Coastal Resilience Assessment

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Binational Coastal Resilience Assessment

Compartiendo la Costa: Oportunidades y estrategias para la resiliencia costera en la región San Diego-Baja California

Mon, 9 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

El propósito de este documento es compartir una visión estratégica para mejorar la resiliencia costera en la región de San Diego-Baja California a través de la colaboración binacional basada en una evaluación de necesidades liderada por California Sea Grant y Climate Science Alliance.La visión de este documento identifica oportunidades clave y estrategias accionables que integran la investigación científica, el conocimiento tradicional y prácticas innovadoras para apoyar a las comunidades y ecosistemas costeros. Al fomentar asociaciones transfronterizas, expandir las capacidades de investigación y comprometer a diversos actores, este documento tiene como objetivo guiar los esfuerzos hacia un futuro más resiliente para nuestra costa compartida.

Molluscan Shellfish Aquaculture in Federal Waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): Agencies, Industry, and Academia Working Together on Compliance and Permitting Requirements

Mon, 9 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Approximately 91% of the seafood products sold in the United States are imported, and roughly

half of those imports are produced by aquaculture.5 These seafood imports total 2.45 million

metric tons, 89,000-90,500 metric tons of which is comprised of molluscan shellfish (e.g. oysters,

mussels, clams, and scallops).6 These imports have contributed to a significant seafood trade

deficit, which ballooned to $14 billion in 2016.7 Increased domestic aquaculture production has

the potential to reduce this reliance on seafood imports, which could result in an estimated

additional 50,000 full-time and part-time jobs8 if United States “offshore” aquaculture production

is doubled.9 Furthermore, it has been suggested by some as a way to reduce the carbon footprint

associated with imported seafood.10

While the potential for increased domestic molluscan shellfish marine aquaculture production11

has been the subject of high-level...

Sharing the Coast: Opportunities and strategies for accelerating coastal resilience in the San Diego-Baja California Region

Mon, 9 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this document is to outline a strategic vision for enhancing coastal resilience in the San Diego-Baja California Region through binational collaboration. It draws from a needs assessment led by California Sea Grant and the Climate Science Alliance. This vision document identifies key opportunities and actionable strategies that integrate scientific research, traditional knowledge, and innovative practices to support resilient coastal communities and ecosystems. By fostering cross-border partnerships, expanding research capabilities, and engaging diverse stakeholders, this document aims to guide efforts towards a more resilient future for our shared coastline.

Building Climate Resilience of Urban Waters, Ecosystems, and Communities

Mon, 9 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

particularly in urban ecosystems. The project site, Manzanita Canyon, is located in the heart of a

“disadvantaged” community in San Diego, California. In urban watersheds such as this, ecosystems

provide services disproportionate to their size, yet are also highly vulnerable to climate change hazards

because of the heavy reliance on services and the relatively degraded state. This two-year project

improved water quality and climate resilience of an urban ecosystem and an underserved community by

engaging 2,253 community members in stewardship activities; restoring 7.56 acres of native coastal

scrub ecosystem, including planting, maintaining and monitoring 1,536 natives; and removing 22 metric

tons (758 m3) of invasive plants and trash. Findings from this project formed the basis of the following

stewardship recommendations:

1. Community engagement was most effective when community-based leaders or organizations

were...

Local Seafood Availability in San Diego, California Seafood Markets

Thu, 3 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Like many developed coastal cities, San Diego, California has strong geographic and recreational ties to the adjacent ocean, but weak culinary ones. Less than 10% of the seafood consumed in the U.S., and San Diego in particular, is domestic. The popularity and abundance of farmers’ markets and other local markets in San Diego indicates an interest among producers and the public alike in cultivating local, diverse food systems, but this trend has been slower to catch on for seafood. The goal of this project was, therefore, to define and begin to understand the influences on the patterns of locally sourced, domestic seafood availability in San Diego. This study focused on seafood availability in seafood markets including researching market websites and contacting seafood counter managers to determine the general frequency (consistent, occasional, none) at which the markets sold seafood produced by San Diego fishermen or aquafarmers. Seafood market locations were mapped, and demographic...

Integrating collaborative data collection with management: A lobster fishery test case

Mon, 9 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Cost-effective programs for gathering essential fisheries information (EFI) are critically needed to

improve the data-poor state of fisheries in California and worldwide. The California Marine Life

Management Act (MLMA) recognizes this need and requires development of fishery management

plans (FMPs) that identify suitable protocols for collecting data, and use of the best available

scientific information to inform management. Furthermore, in the United States, several state

and federal laws require the engagement of fishermen and others in fisheries management. To

address these needs, we developed a collaborative at-sea sampling program (CASP) by:

• determining the key regulatory, administrative and operational features of established

collaborative fisheries data collection programs,

• developing a robust sampling design with associated protocols for the commercial

California spiny lobster fishery,

• designing,...

Collaborative fisheries research to build socioeconomic essential fishery information: A test case

Mon, 9 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Fisheries are integrated social-‐ecological systems, characterized by dynamic and complex interactions within and between the natural and human environments. California’s 1998 Marine Management Life Act (MLMA) recognizes the role of people in fisheries, and the MLMA Master Plan calls for the inclusion of socioeconomic as well as ecological “essential fishery information” in fishery management plans. However, critical gaps in such information for virtually all fisheries hinder managers’ ability to actively adapt and communities’ ability to plan for the future. This project begins to meet such information needs for the commercial fishery for California halibut, providing an example for other fisheries. We conducted a small collaborative fisheries research (CFR) project that engaged fishery participants, scientists and managers. Our goal was to produce sound social scientific understanding of the human dimensions of the fisheries system that is useful to the fishing, management,...

Figuring Out the Human Dimensions of Fisheries: Illuminating Models

Mon, 9 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Figuring Out the Human Dimensions of Fisheries: Illuminating Models

Can the United States have its fish and eat it too?

Mon, 25 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

As domestic affluence increases, nations advocate for conservation policies to protect domestic biodiversity that often curtail natural resource production activities such as fishing. If concomitant consumption patterns remain unchanged, environmentally-conscious nations with high consumption rates such as the U.S. may only be distancing themselves from the negative environmental impacts associated with consuming resources and commodities produced elsewhere. This unintended displacement of ecosystem impacts, or leakage, associated with conservation policies has not been studied extensively in marine fisheries. This paper examines this topic, drawing on case studies to illustrate the ways in which unilateral marine conservation actions can shift ecosystem impacts elsewhere, as has been documented in land use interventions. The authors argue that the U.S. should recognize these distant ecological consequences and move toward greater self-sufficiency to protect its seafood security...

Calcifying algae maintain settlement cues to larval abalone following algal exposure to extreme ocean acidification

Tue, 19 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Ocean acidification (OA) increasingly threatens marine systems, and is especially harmful to calcifying organisms. One important question is whether OA will alter species interactions. Crustose coralline algae (CCA) provide space and chemical cues for larval settlement. CCA have shown strongly negative responses to OA in previous studies, including disruption of settlement cues to corals. In California, CCA provide cues for seven species of harvested, threatened, and endangered abalone. We exposed four common CCA genera and a crustose calcifying red algae, Peyssonnelia (collectively CCRA) from California to three pCO₂ levels ranging from 419–2,013 µatm for four months. We then evaluated abalone (Haliotis rufescens) settlement under ambient conditions among the CCRA and non-algal controls that had been previously exposed to the pCO₂ treatments. Abalone settlement and metamorphosis increased from 11% in the absence of CCRA to 45–69% when...

Spatial and Temporal Examination of Bivalve Communities in Several Estuaries of Southern California and Northern Baja California, MX

Tue, 19 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Spatial and Temporal Examination of Bivalve Communities in Several Estuaries of Southern California and Northern Baja California, MX

BASELINE CHARACTERIZATION OF FISH COMMUNITIES ASSOCIATED WITHNEARSHORE ROCKY REEFS IN THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MARINEPROTECTED AREA STUDY REGIONS

Tue, 19 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

BASELINE CHARACTERIZATION OF FISH COMMUNITIES ASSOCIATED WITHNEARSHORE ROCKY REEFS IN THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MARINEPROTECTED AREA STUDY REGIONS

The Resilience of Marine Ecosystems to Climatic Disturbances

Tue, 12 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The intensity and frequency of climate-driven disturbances are increasing in coastal marine ecosystems. Understanding the factors that enhance or inhibit ecosystem resilience to climatic disturbance is essential. We surveyed 97 experts in six major coastal biogenic ecosystem types to identify “bright spots” of resilience in the face of climate change. We also evaluated literature that was recommended by the experts that addresses the responses of habitat-forming species to climatic disturbance. Resilience was commonly reported in the expert surveys (80% of experts). Resilience was observed in all ecosystem types and at multiple locations worldwide. The experts and literature cited remaining biogenic habitat, recruitment/connectivity, physical setting, and management of local-scale stressors as most important for resilience. These findings suggest that coastal ecosystems may still hold great potential to persist in the face of climate change and that local- to regional-scale management...

Effects of Flow-Related Variables on Oversummer Survival of Juvenile Coho Salmon in Intermittent Streams

Tue, 12 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

While many studies have established the importance of streamflow as a driver of fish population dynamics, few have examined relationships between survival of juvenile salmonids and flow-related variables in intermittent streams. With predictions for higher frequency of drought conditions due to climate change, and the associated increasing human demand for water during the dry season, understanding fish–flow relationships is becoming increasingly important for the protection of sensitive aquatic species. To examine the effects of low streamflow on juvenile salmonids rearing in small intermittent streams, we estimated survival and collected environmental data in four coastal California watersheds from 2011 to 2013. We used an individual-based mark-recapture modeling approach to evaluate the influence of flow-related variables on oversummer survival of PIT-tagged juvenile Coho Salmon stocked into eight stream reaches. Survival was positively associated with streamflow magnitude,...

Managing Small-Scale Commercial Fisheries for Adaptive Capacity: Insights from Dynamic Social-Ecological Drivers of Change in Monterey Bay

Tue, 12 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Globally, small-scale fisheries are influenced by dynamic climate, governance, and market drivers, which present social and ecological challenges and opportunities. It is difficult to manage fisheries adaptively for fluctuating drivers, except to allow participants to shift effort among multiple fisheries. Adapting to changing conditions allows small-scale fishery participants to survive economic and environmental disturbances and benefit from optimal conditions. This study explores the relative influence of large-scale drivers on shifts in effort and outcomes among three closely linked fisheries in Monterey Bay since the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act of 1976. In this region, Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax), northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax), and market squid (Loligo opalescens) fisheries comprise a tightly linked system where shifting focus among fisheries is a key element to adaptive capacity and reduced social and...

Human dimensions perspectives on the impacts of coastal zone marine renewable energy

Fri, 16 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Climate change and soaring energy costs have fueled attention to renewable energy. In coastal areas, the potential to harness the clean power of offshore wind, wave, and tide is irresistible. Our extensive coasts and oceans offer what appears at first glance to be virgin territory for development of energy producing facilities. A closer look,however, reveals that these areas are teeming with productive activity, activity that cannot be ignored in planning and implementing marine renewable energy (MRE) development and production.

South Coast Seafood

Wed, 28 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Commercial fisheries are an important part of California's economy. In 2011, approximately $201 million dollars in ex-vessel revenue (the amount paid directly to fishermen) came from commercial fishery landings, and more than 120,000 jobs on and off the water were supported by the state's seafood industry (NOAA 2011). Fishing communities from Crescent City to San Diego are the centers of this activity, providing a diverse supply of seafood and a visual reminder of California's maritime heritage.

Santa Barbara Channel Seafood

Wed, 28 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Central Coast Seafood

Wed, 28 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

North Coast Seafood

Wed, 28 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Quagga and Zebra Mussel Eradication and Control Tactics

Mon, 5 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Aquatic invasive species (AIS)continue to threaten coastal and marine habitats in California. The goal of this project is to conduct research and develop outreach materials that help agencies, groups and individuals prevent, eradication and control AIS. Current objectives include: 1) investigate recruitment dynamics of quagga mussels in southern California to provide baseline informaiton on infestations in various locations, inform monitoring efforts and to identify factors influencing the success of mussel populations in California, 2) conduct research to evaluate additional eradication and control tactics for development of IPM strategies for lakes, reservoirs and irrigation canals, including the use of fish biological control agents for management of quagga (and zebra) mussels, 3) evaluate IPM strategies for control of Asian kelp, Undaria pinnatifida, including the use of invertebrate biological control agents.

Zostera japonica Eradication Project: Annual Report: 2010

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This report summarizes the activities and accomplishments of the Zostera japonica Eradication Project conducted under Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation and Conservation District Permit No. 03-03 during the period October 21, 2009 to December 31, 2010. The Z. japonica Eradication Project is a cooperative effort involving University of California Sea Grant Extension staff, California Department of Fish and Game staff, and Humboldt State University student interns. Project Background

This ongoing eradication project represents the front line of defense in California against a non-native eelgrass that rapidly colonizes areas of unvegetated mudflat. Native to Asia, Z. japonica has become established on tidal flats from Boundary Bay, British Columbia to Coos Bay, Oregon. The detection of dwarf eelgrass (Zostera japonica Aschers and Graebn) on Indian Island in Humboldt Bay, California, in June 2002 represents the southern extent of its range in the Eastern Pacific and it is the...

Humboldt Bay Initiative: 2001 update and accomplishments

Fri, 9 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The Humboldt Bay Initiative (HBI) is a diverse, multidisciplinary team formed in 2007 to develop an ecosystem based approach to coastal resource management. HBI completed a formal strategic planning process in 2009. Six priority ecosystem-based management (EBM) strategies were developed based on identification of “EBM targets” and threats to those targets. Two strategies have been implemented: Strategy A: Establish the Humboldt Bay Initiative and Strategy B: Coordinated Response to Coastal and Climate Change. The remaining four strategies are in various planning phases or not yet active.

California’s North Coast Fishing Communities Historical Perspective and Recent Trends: Project Summary

Mon, 5 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of the Fishing CommunitiesProject was to provide detailed historical and current social science information on four Northern California port communities – Crescent City, Trinidad, Eureka/Fields Landing, and Noyo/Fort Bragg. In addition to profiling each community, the project also provides a regional overview that encompasses the three counties – Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte – in which these communities are situated. While this report is intended to help address fishery management needs, it can be used in a range of processes, from local planning and education to state and regional policy issues.

California’s North Coast Fishing Communities Historical Perspective and Recent Trends: Trinidad Harbor Fishing Community Profile