California Department of Fish and Wildlife (Department) and California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) staff invite interested stakeholders participate in a public workshop series related to developing potential criteria for Commission use when determining if individual proposed new state water bottom leases for aquaculture are in the public interest.

An introductory webinar was held via Zoom, July 12, 2022 from 1:00-2:00 p.m.

This effort to define criteria by which the Commission will make its determination of whether each new aquaculture lease application should be further considered is being facilitated by the Marine Resources Committee, where full public discussion and written comment is encouraged. The Marine Resources Committee will next meet on July 14, 2022 in Santa Rosa and via webinar/teleconference.

Additional information and background context on this effort, as well as meeting and support materials, are available at the Department’s Aquaculture webpage, including background materials and the initial draft criteria.

Materials and information on how to join the July 12 webinar will be posted to the Commission’s meetings page early next week, at https://fgc.ca.gov/Meetings/2022.

The next installment of the workshop series is expected to occur later this summer or early fall, for stakeholder input on revised draft criteria once it is prepared. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us at: AquacultureCoord@wildlife.ca.gov or FGC@fgc.ca.gov.

We look forward to your participation.