Over the last 15 years, California’s Ocean Litter Prevention Strategy (OLS) has made significant strides in addressing the problem of marine debris in the state. California is home to nearly 300 state and local laws restricting the sale or use of plastic bags, plastic straws and polystyrene food packaging. We’re also home to California Coastal Cleanup Day, the largest cleanup event in the nation.

A new California Sea Grant program, Pathways to Inclusive Research Training, will provide research opportunities in marine and coastal science to California undergraduate students from underrepresented groups. 

For the 2023 grant cycle, eight projects were selected and will collectively receive up to $600,000 in Sea Grant funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

It is hoped that the program will increase retention in STEM of diverse groups and cultivate potential future leaders in coastal science. 

This is part of a special series celebrating California Sea Grant's 50th Anniversary.

All eyes were on California in December when the subject of marine protected areas came up at COP15, the United Nations biodiversity conference.

The San Diego Estuaries Research Symposium, held on Feb. 7, helped connect the dots between science and management in the region.

As shoreline erosion worsens with rising sea levels, California Sea Grant-funded researchers are trying to find the best approaches to fight the erosion and restore land along California’s coast.

One tactic: create living shorelines for protection.

California Sea Grant is excited to welcome Meliza Le Alvarado as the new Binational Climate Fellow. In this new two-year role she will work with Indigenous communities, stakeholders and scientists around the San Diego-northern Baja California region with the goal of improving access to coastal resilience research.

Le Alvarado grew up in Ensenada, Mexico, and earned a bachelor’s degree in general biology from the Autonomous University of Baja California. She started working in aquaculture and sustainable seafood but soon moved to conservation and habitat restoration.