California Ocean Science Trust

Ocean Science Trust is dedicated to accelerating progress towards a healthy and productive ocean future for California.

Ocean Science Trust was created by the California Ocean Resources Stewardship Act (CORSA). First passed in 2000, an update to our founding legislation in 2022 (AB2287) reaffirms our continued value to the state. Recognizing the value of independent science and the opportunity to better connect the wealth of scientific expertise in academia with policy and management decisions in the state, CORSA mandates the creation of a science trust ‘to seek and provide funding for ocean resource science projects and to encourage coordinated, multiagency, multi-institution approaches to ocean resource science’. Every day the Ocean Science Trust team is committed to implementing this important legislation.

TOP ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF 2022
1. In October 2022 we celebrated the passage of AB 2287, which updated our founding legislation, and reaffirmed the essential role of independent science in spurring action on critical coastal and ocean issues.
2. In partnership with the California Department of Insurance, in late 2022 our team launched an initiative to gather decision makers, coastal and ocean experts, and climate insurance thinkers to collaboratively design demonstration projects that can move from theory to practice at the nexus of nature-based solutions and insurance.
3. We leveraged our deep network of scientific experts in California to provide technical advice on bill ideas across a variety of topics, including DDT+ pollution, blue carbon potential, and the kelp loss crises, directly informing AB 2593, AB 2787, and AB 1279 during the 2021-2022 legislative session.

TOP GOALS FOR 2023
1. We will work with officials and our science partners to explore appropriate, science-grounded ways to address DDT+ pollution in the Southern California Bight, which directly impacts the ocean and coast of Orange County.
2. We will bring science to bear to accelerate progress towards the state government’s vision for a healthy, equitable, and productive ocean and coast. We will continue our long-standing role of supporting evidence-informed decisions by the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) as science advisor and convenor of the OPC Science Advisory Team. This work will specifically impact Orange County's coast and ocean waters.
3. OST’s Legislative Science Services will bring cutting-edge science on issues impacting our coast and ocean directly to California’s lawmakers, empowering them to make smart, informed policy decisions, including on matters implicating Orange County's ocean and coast.
4. Explore the potential for flexible fishing permits to meet California and Orange County's climate and fishing community policy goals, and to be more responsive to unexpected climate-driven changes while maintaining ecosystem stewardship.

1. Funding to operate our Legislative Science Services program, which delivers cutting-edge science to the California Legislature on issues related to the state's coast and ocean, including in Orange County.
2. Funding to support our internship program, which seeks to train California's future marine science-policy workforce, with a special focus on historically marginalized and disadvantaged populations. We will work with students from the California State University and University of California systems, including University of California, Irvine.
3. General operating funds to support our work accelerating progress towards a healthy and productive ocean future for California, including in Orange County.

Ocean Science Trust serves all ocean and coastal areas of California, including Orange County.