News & Events
Wave Energy in Coastal California Report
Posted 12/1/2008
An OPC-funded report, Developing Wave Energy in Coastal California: Potential Socio-Economic and Environmental Effects, is now available for download. The report was authored by a team of scientists from H.T. Harvey and Associates, UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory, UC Santa Cruz, the Farallon Institute for Advanced Ecosystem Research, Planwest Partners and Humboldt State University, and jointly funded by the OPC and the California Energy Commission. The report reviews the social, economic, and environmental issues associated with wave energy technologies in California, and identifies specific research needed to further evaluate its potential effects.
California Ocean Protection Council Public Meetings
Posted 11/12/2008
All meetings of the Ocean Protection Council are open to the public and members of the public are encouraged to attend. OPC meetings will be Web cast live and the video archives will be available after the meeting. Please visit the OPC Public Meetings page for more information.
Scientists include fishermen in research
Posted 11/10/2008
Scientists at Moss Landing Marine Labs are hiring commercial and recreational fishing boats to carry out fisheries research, directly involving the fishermen in the planning and execution of the research taking place in marine protected areas (MPAs). The financial contribution is helpful for the fishermen, who had their prime fishing grounds significantly reduced to create the MPAs.
Scientists Spot Unusual Eddy
Posted 10/28/08
Marine scientists at Humboldt State and their colleagues at U.C. Davis have uncovered a large eddy southwest of Cape Mendocino that they suspect interferes with the flow of nutrients and marine species to waters farther south.
Southern California MLPA Science Advisory Team Announced
Department of Fish and Game (DFG) named a panel of science advisors to assist in redesigning marine protected areas (MPAs) in Southern California. The 20-member Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Master Plan Science Advisory Team (SAT) will provide scientific support for the MLPA Initiative in the south coast study region, which spans from Point Conception in Santa Barbara County south to the California border with Mexico, including offshore islands.
Leptospirosis Outbreak in Local Wildlife
Health Advisory - An outbreak among California sea lions in the Monterey Bay coastal waters has been reported.
Acidic oceans crank up the volume
As carbon dioxide is pumped into the atmosphere, which many scientists blame for global warming, it is also being absorbed into the oceans, which are becoming more acidic and therefore noisier, according to researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
Ocean.US Closing Announcement
Ocean.US closed its operations at the end of September 2008. Since its original formulation, Ocean.US had lead the development and conceptualizing of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System.
Report to Congress Forecasts Shortage of Marine Scientists
The federal departments of Commerce and Education are forecasting a serious shortage of scientists trained to do the high-quality research required to rebuild fish stocks and restore marine species in the next decade. A new joint report to Congress estimates the nation will need between 180 and 340 new fishery stock assessment scientists in the next 10 years, but current institutions will produce only 160. The report projects a shortage of between 20 and 180, with a likely shortage of between 100 and 180 stock assessment scientists for the nation in the next decade.
On Thin Ice
December 8 – 9, 2008, Monterey, California
An interdisciplinary conference on the scientific, economic, environmental, cultural and security implications of climate change in the arctic region.