California Sea Grant College Program

This document provides scientific guidance to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) regarding the potential impacts of climate change on California fisheries and recommendations for building resilience to buffer climatic forces. At CDFW’s request, the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) provided funding to the Ocean Science Trust (OST) to convene an OPC Science Advisory Team (OPC-SAT) Working Group with relevant ecological, social science, and governance expertise. This guidance was prepared by OST and the OPC-SAT Working Group in partnership with CDFW, in adherence with the requirements in the OPC Staff Recommendation: “California State Fisheries Management: Current Efforts and Future Needs.” This project was developed for consideration by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to help inform the state’s process to amend the Marine Life Management Act (MLMA) Master Plan. Products from this project have been submitted to CDFW for review and may be integrated, in full or in part, into a draft Master Plan Amendment. In addition, given the broad potential ecological, social and economic impacts from climate change, we hope the document provides useful guidance for other government agencies and departments, funders, affected individuals and communities, and non-governmental organizations engaging in action on this issue. Additional information about the Master Plan amendment process, including key resources and opportunities for stakeholder engagement, is available at https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Master-Plan.