Another important topic at the California Fish and Game Commission's July Marine Resources Committee meeting was Aquaculture Leasing in California (Item 4) and specifically, the development of public interest criteria to help guide the Fish and Game Commission and the Fish and Wildlife Department in their new leasing decisions, so that the Commission can ensure newly sited leases take into account important considerations such as impacts to our sensitive coastal environment, eelgrass habitat, recreation, and navigation. We have been engaged in the development of these criteria for the last couple of years, and we are excited that the criteria are close to being finalized. Draft 3 will be released shortly and reviewed at the August Fish and Game Commission meeting next week.
Following submitting joint written comments, our Legal and Policy Director, Ashley Eagle-Gibbs, spoke on the aquaculture leasing criteria at the July Marine Resources Committee meeting on behalf of EAC and Audubon California, pointing out the need for a few additional revisions to ensure eelgrass and shorebird protection. Other NGOs and industry representatives also shared their perspectives at the meeting.
At the July meeting, the Committee agreed to make some additional modifications to the language including incorporating some of EAC's requests before sending the criteria to the Commission at their August 23rd meeting. Since July, we and our partners have met with the Department of Fish and Wildlife staff, and are awaiting the revised criteria, which will be Draft 3.
How Will This Impact Tomales Bay?
Once adopted, these criteria (which are guidelines, not law) will apply to any new leases proposed for Tomales Bay in Marin County, as well as statewide. These criteria will be used to determine whether new leases are in the public interest related to environmental protection, navigation, recreation, and other potential conflicts. A new lease has been proposed for Tomales Bay, and if these criteria are finalized, they will be applied in the Department and Commission’s review of this new lease proposal. The lease will also have to undergo the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process.
When in the Process Will the Criteria Apply?
This will be finalized at the August meeting, but these criteria will be considered early in the lease review process, but the final analysis and Commission decision will occur after the CEQA review. While we initially pushed that the criteria be a pre-screening tool, we understand this raised some legal concerns for the Commission and this is a good compromise, while still retaining robust environmental review.
We are excited to see the criteria moving forward to help protect our sensitive resources when considering new siting. Our work on state aquaculture is part of our Healthy Tomales Bay campaign.
Learn More:
- Read our Comment Letter
- June 2023 blog post
- February 2023 blog post
August Meeting (available remotely):
Fish & Game Commission Meeting on August 22-23rd in Fortuna, CA. Meeting Info & August Agenda, Meeting Documents (See Item 23A)
