We have good news to report! Through our efforts in coordinating a statewide aquaculture coalition of coastal groups, we successfully organized a strategy and succeeded in having the Assembly Natural Resources Committee’s January hearing for California Assembly Bill (AB) 303 (Aquaculture: mariculture production and restoration: pilot program) canceled at the request of the bill author.
This problematic bill threatened the California Coastal Act’s authority to regulate aquaculture (like the cultivation of shellfish) by exempting the California Coastal Commission’s oversight over 5 large pilot project areas in the state.
The Coastal Commission, charged with enforcing the California Coastal Act and with specific authority to regulate aquaculture as coastal development, has proven to be a very systematic, fair, and strong regulator of the aquaculture industry. The bill proposed to open up a minimum of 3.86 square miles (or 2,471 acres) of California’s oceans and estuaries to aquaculture projects without adequate oversight.
For more than two years, we have worked to coordinate opposition to this bill. Last year, we succeeded in delaying the bill by making it a 2 year bill in spring of 2021 with the support of 10 other NGOs.
Leading up to the Assembly Natural Resources Committee hearing, we spoke before the Coastal Commission and, voiced our opposition to the bill and supported the Commission staff’s recommendation for the Coastal Commission to formally oppose the bill:
“Removing the Commission’s authority to regulate development in the coastal zone subverts the citizens of California who voted to protect our priceless coastal resources with the creation of the Coastal Act and this commission. We wholeheartedly support the staff recommendation to oppose this bill.”
The Commission unanimously voted to oppose the bill.
As part of our Healthy Tomales Bay campaign, EAC remains engaged with our partners to fight bills like this one, which threaten the Coastal Commission and our state’s coastal waters.
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