West Coast EBM Network

 

location  Morro Bay, CA & central

                    California coast

Website  www.slosea.org

Project lead  Dean Wendt

Email  dwendt@calpoly.edu

Photo courtesy of Dean Wendt

About

Photo courtesy of Don Maruska

Photo courtesy of Morro Bay NEP

Formed: 2006

Geographic Focus: Morro Bay, CA & 100 miles of central California coast

Project Office: San Luis Obispo, CA (200mi north of Los Angeles, CA, 230mi south of San Francisco, CA) 

Structure:

  1. -Leadership Team (four people)

  2. -Science Team (15-20 people including academic scientists, research technicians, graduate students, environmental/industry consultants)

  3. -Advisory Committee (30 members including state and federal resource agencies, staff from non-governmental organizations, municipal and county government staff and elected officials, and academic scientists)

Products:

  1. -Priority Areas

  2. •Identifying key sources of pollution and their impacts

  3. •Supporting sustainable fish stocks and fishing communities

  4. •Identifying, detecting, and controlling marine invasive species

  5. •Managing public access to fragile coastal habitats

  6. •Developing local responses to the impacts of climate change

  7. •Informing decision-making for a diversified marine economy

  8. -Products:

  9. •SLOSEA Strategic Plan

  10. •Management Action Memos (policy-focused; based on sound-science)

  11. •Near-real time water-quality observatory in estuarine ecosystems

  12. •Bathymetry and GIS habitat products

  13. •Hydrodynamic model to track pollutants and assess impacts of climate change

  14. •Tracking fate of novel pollutants in food chains of estuarine ecosystems

  15. •Socioeconomic indicators database

  16. •Complete understanding of impacts of human access on rocky intertidal habitats

  17. •Peer-reviewed protocols for engaging fishermen in monitoring marine protected areas and assessing fish stocks

 

The San Luis Obispo Science and Ecosystem Alliance (SLOSEA) is extremely proactive in the discussion of ecosystem-based management (EBM) approaches in the Morro Bay area and central California coast.  The group’s geographic focus encompasses Estero Bay, the Morro Bay estuary and harbor, and associated watersheds, including habitats ranging from kelp forests to estuaries.  The group embraces a science-based approach to management and includes a broad membership from the local area.  SLOSEA continues to be extremely active, undertaking extensive research activities, and developing detailed policy recommendations for management changes. 


Initiative Background

SLOSEA was originally formed through the partnership of similarly focused activities in the Morro Bay area, including a grassroots stakeholder group, the Morro Bay National Estuary Program (NEP), and ongoing research at the Cal Poly Center for Coastal Marine Sciences.  The motivation for partnership was increased further by broader policy activities taking place, including the release of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and PEW Oceans Commission reports and the state-level California Ocean Action Plan.


EBM Approach

SLOSEA is focused on several key issue areas, including water quality and runoff, regional fisheries management, climate change, and diverse marine economies (see full list below). Based on these areas, SLOSEA’s successes have included sustained stakeholder input in the management process, increased cross-jurisdictional communication among staff at agencies that manage marine resources, increased understanding of ecosystem dynamics and the role of humans in the ecosystem, and development of a tool to provide agencies concrete management recommendations based on sound science and integrated approaches to solving pressing resource management problems.

 

Project Details

Return to Network HomepageNetwork_Home.htmlNetwork_Home.htmlshapeimage_5_link_0