SB 1363, as introduced, Monning. Coastal resources: eelgrass habitat.
Existing law establishes the Ocean Protection Council and requires the council, among other things, to coordinate activities of state agencies that are related to the protection and conservation of coastal waters and ocean ecosystems, and to establish policies to coordinate the collection and sharing of scientific data related to coastal and ocean resources among agencies.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to promote restoration of eelgrass habitat in California’s coastal environments, bays, and estuaries, based on scientific- and evidence-based approaches.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 35630 is added to the Public Resources
2Code, to read:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
4(a) Eelgrass ecosystems are among the most diverse and
5productive ecosystems in the world, with particular importance to
6commercially and recreationally valuable species like shellfish,
7crabs, finfish, waterfowl, and migratory birds.
P2 1(b) Since the 1850s, 90 percent of California’s eelgrass acreage
2has been destroyed, and the remaining 10 percent is continuously
3exposed to multiple stressors and threats.
4(c) Scientific research has shown that eelgrass habitat provides
5multiple benefits including the following:
6(1) Providing essential fish habitat for recovering salmon
7populations and supporting commercial fisheries important to
8California’s coastal economy.
9(2) Improving water clarity by filtering polluted runoff and by
10absorbing excess nutrients.
11(3) Helping to mitigate hypoxia, an abnormal deficiency of
12oxygen in marine environments.
13(4) Sequestering carbon in the underlying sediments.
14(5) Protecting the shoreline from erosion by absorbing wave
15energy and helping to mitigate sea level rise.
Section 35631 is added to the Public Resources Code,
17to read:
It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to
19promote restoration of eelgrass habitat in California’s coastal
20environments, bays, and estuaries, based on scientific- and
21evidence-based approaches.
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