SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) California has the potential to become a global leader in sustainable shellfish and seaweed production and restoration, while also increasing coastal resiliency and strengthening climate change adaptation.
(b) In the coming years, sustainable sources of food must become more broadly available to a growing population, even as climate change strains food supplies across the planet.
(c) The ocean, coastlines, and coastal communities are disproportionately impacted by increasing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. These impacts include
changes in water temperature, ocean acidification and deoxygenation, rising sea levels, increased storm intensity, and changes in the diversity and abundance of marine species, among other effects. Climate-driven degradation of coastal and marine ecosystems threatens the physical, economic, and food security of California communities, and weakens the ability of the ocean to provide critical ecosystem services such as food production and carbon sequestration.
(d) In addition to, and partially as a result of, global climate change impacts, California has experienced historic and continued degradation of its ecosystems. For example, in the past decade, more than 96 percent of the bull kelp in Northern California has disappeared, and two species of abalone are now listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.
(e) A diverse portfolio of well-designed and managed aquaculture
operations that includes shellfish and seaweed will help support a more sustainable and resilient food supply amidst changing environmental conditions, while simultaneously proving restorative in nature, reducing the impact of climate change on our coasts and oceans through ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, water filtration, coastal defense, oxygen production, and provision of essential habitat for wild species.
(f) Recovery of depleted marine species and habitats can be advanced through conservation efforts led by traditional academic and conservation practitioners, as well as through focused production, which in some instances can be led by commercial operators. Additionally, kelp and bivalve production can provide real-time monitoring of changing climate and ocean conditions through an ongoing review of impacts on production and restoration, often in collaboration with academia.
(g) Through Executive Orders Nos. N-82-20 and B-55-18, California has acknowledged the role natural and working lands and waters can and will play in reducing the impacts of anthropogenic climate change. Kelp and bivalve production and restoration are among the most effective uses of natural and working marine ecosystems in providing ecosystem, water quality, and carbon sequestration benefits.
(h) Innovation and experimentation are critical to advancing marine restoration in the state. In order to better engage and leverage the private sector to test restoration techniques, and finance new marine restoration projects, new approaches are needed to expedite and harmonize permitting and approval for those activities, restoration research, and experimental pilot projects that can, if successful, be expanded to full-scale operations.
(i) Demand for environmentally beneficial shellfish and seaweed projects far outpaces the regulatory approval process. As a result, shellfish and seaweed activities that benefit California’s marine habitats and ecosystems are not being implemented.
(j) Recovery of depleted organisms through restoration, translocation, and reintroduction may help improve the resiliency of our coastal ocean ecosystems to climate and other anthropogenic stressors.