On behalf of the Delta Science Program, California Sea Grant is pleased to announce ten recipients of the 2018 Delta Science Fellowship. Each fellowship provides two years of support to awardees to pursue research on key topics related to water issues and ecosystem health in the San Francisco Bay-Delta. The Bay-Delta region is largest estuary on the Pacific coast of the Americas.

Worldwide, fishing fleets discard as many as two of every five sea creatures they catch. Now, a new tool can help fishers locate the most productive fishing spots while avoiding unwanted or protected species such as blue sharks, sea turtles and dolphins.

The California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program have released an ambitious new strategy for reducing ocean litter that goes beyond traditional cleanup efforts to include a broad range of actions aimed at preventing and reducing marine debris throughout the state.

Five recent graduates from California universities have landed prestigious national fellowships in coastal management and marine policy.  California Sea Grant recruits and nominates students attending universities within the state for the Coastal Management Fellowship and John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship programs.

Restoring Southern California’s urban canyons helps protect ecosystems, wildlife, and open space for urban residents. Restored, native canyons could also be crucial in making communities more resilient to the impacts and risks of climate change, according to a new report led by Theresa Talley, a California Sea Grant extension specialist based at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego.

Sabrina Beyer, a PhD student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Gabriel Englander, a PhD student at UC Berkeley, have been awarded NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)-Sea Grant Fellowships.

Underneath the Municipal Wharf II in Monterey Bay, hundreds of abalone—large sea snails— grow in suspended cages in an open water farm. The abalone, cultivated by the Monterey Abalone Company, are fed local, hand-harvested giant kelp once a week, until they grow big enough to be sold to restaurants and local seafood connoisseurs.

Climate change is projected to increase the risk of drought, heat extremes, and wildfires in California through 2100. But at the same time, sea-level rise and changing precipitation patterns could increase the risk of floods and landslides, according to the Fourth California Climate Change Assessment.

Water quality conditions in some parts of Morro Bay may be the key factor preventing eelgrass recovery after a recent decline, according to a new study published in the journal Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science.