Tomales Bay, a serenely beautiful inlet an hour north of San Francisco, has been home to shellfish cultures for centuries. In 1983, Terry Sawyer too joined two partners in tending a five-acre oyster lease in the inlet’s sheltered water in the hours after his then-day job as an aquarist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. By the mid-2000s, their Hog Island Oyster Company had grown into a thriving business that included an oyster bar in San Francisco’s historic Ferry Building.

When Jason Patton bikes from his home in Manila, California, to the nearby town of Arcata, he rides along a peninsula at the edge of Humboldt Bay. His travels lead past levees that were built in the late 1880s to protect this narrow slip of land from the sea. But lately, their protection has started to feel precarious. 

California Sea Grant, in partnership with the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC), will administer $2 million in funding for five research projects that will address microplastics in California.

“Microplastics are a growing threat to California’s communities and ecosystems,” said Shauna Oh, director of California Sea Grant. “We’re excited to be helping the state advance its understanding and pursue potential solutions through these projects.”

Katie Neylan grew up in the Central Valley of California, two hours away from the coast. But when it came time to pick a college, it was the ocean that inspired her. She enrolled at California State University, Monterey Bay, ultimately majoring in marine science, which “felt like the most intriguing area of study,” says Neylan.

Aquaculture and marine resource management, in particular, piqued her interest. “It became clear to me that the global need for fish as a protein source is outpacing what is available through wild-caught fisheries.”