A Year of Progress for Our Coastal Waters

As 2024 comes to a close, we reflect on the year’s successes in our shared fight to protect and provide equitable access to our coastal resources, especially for those who depend on fishing. Your support has been critical in helping us achieve meaningful progress—and we have much to celebrate.

Key Achievements of 2024:

1. Science-Driven Advocacy: We’ve pushed for stronger science-based policies, measurement, and accountability, ensuring that our work is grounded in data and measurable outcomes. This approach led to the consideration of our recommendations by the Fish and Game Commission and full reviews of our written and verbal comments—marking a major milestone in our advocacy efforts. 

• Our organization created a coalition of stakeholders (including Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, CCA, Coastside Fishing Club, and the American Sportfishing Association to name a few) and authored a coalition letter that led to the modification of ACR 210 to be more scientifically accurate and more favorable to access.

• We identified and activated some of the top marine & fisheries scientists to have them weigh in on questionable aspects of the MPA and 30x30 issues. This led to us working with the news outlet the Santa Barbara Independent. 

• After reviewing a flawed paper in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, we activated our fisheries scientist, Ethan Estess, to submit an op-ed with factual and scientifically based information as a rebuttal to paint a more realistic picture of what is actually going on in our oceans. 

• We organized the largest attendance of Fish and Game Commission meetings in recent history as noted by the Commissioners, and also organized the most letters ever submitted to the Fish and Game Commission (600+).

• Our efforts to organize community meetings and engage with regional politicians convinced city governments to withdraw support of petition 33. 

• We were engaged by various stakeholders (FGC, OPC, UCSB) to utilize our digital presence to distribute information-gathering surveys related to kelp harvesting, ocean access, and stakeholder engagement.

• We participated in the Monterey National Marine Sanctuary advisory board and gave presentations on MPAs and fisheries access/management at Dos Pueblos High School.

  
  

2. Water Quality Progress in the San Francisco Bay: Our partnership with the Sierra Club of San Francisco has helped push for stronger pollution controls and better water quality monitoring, benefiting both the environment and fishing communities.

3. Drakes Estero State Marine Reserve: In our support of the Environmental Action Committee of Marin, we helped move forward to designate Drakes Estero as a State Marine Reserve, a vital step toward protecting this unique estuary and preserving sustainable fishing opportunities in the region.

Looking Ahead:

The fight for equitable access to coastal resources continues. We remain focused on accountability and measurable results, ensuring that every policy and petition is backed by real-world impact. Together, we will keep pushing for policies that support sustainable fisheries, clean waters, and equitable access for all.

Thank you for your continued support. We couldn’t do this important work without you. Here’s to even greater progress in 2025 and beyond!