(a) The California Ocean Protection Trust Fund is established in the State Treasury.
(b) Moneys deposited in the fund may be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for both of the following:
(1) Projects and activities authorized by the council consistent with Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 35600).
(2) Upon authorization by the council, for grants or loans to public agencies, nonprofit corporations, or private entities for, or direct expenditures on, projects or activities that do one or more of the following:
(A) Eliminate or reduce threats to coastal and ocean ecosystems, habitats, and species.
(B) Improve the management of fisheries through grants or loans for the development and implementation of fishery management plans pursuant to Part 1.7 (commencing with Section 7050) of Division 6 of the Fish and Game Code, a part of the Marine Life Management Act of 1998, that promote long-term stewardship and collaboration with fishery participants to develop strategies that increase environmental and economic sustainability. Eligible projects and activities include, but are not limited to, innovative community-based or cooperative management and allocation strategies that create incentives for ecosystem improvement. Eligible expenditures include, but are not limited to, costs related to activities identified in subdivisions (a), (b), and (d) of Section 7075 of the Fish and Game Code, fishery research, monitoring, data collection and analysis to support adaptive management, and other costs related to the development and implementation of a fishery management plan developed pursuant to this subparagraph.
(C) Foster sustainable fisheries, including grants or loans for one or more of the following:
(i) Projects that encourage the development and use of more selective fishing gear.
(ii) The design of community-based or cooperative management mechanisms that promote long-term stewardship and collaboration with fishery participants to develop strategies that increase environmental and economic sustainability.
(iii) Collaborative research and demonstration projects between fishery participants, scientists, and other interested parties.
(iv) Promotion of value-added wild fisheries to offset economic losses attributable to reduced fishing opportunities.
(v) The creation of revolving loan programs for the purpose of implementing sustainable fishery projects.
(D) Improve coastal water quality.
(E) Allow for increased public access to, and enjoyment of, ocean and coastal resources, consistent with sustainable, long-term protection and conservation of those resources.
(F) Improve management, conservation, and protection of coastal waters and ocean ecosystems.
(G) Provide monitoring and scientific data to improve state efforts to protect and conserve ocean resources.
(H) Protect, conserve, and restore coastal waters and ocean ecosystems, including any of the following:
(i) Acquisition, installation, and initiation of monitoring and enforcement systems.
(ii) Acquisition from willing sellers of vessels, equipment, licenses, harvest rights, permits, and other rights and property, to reduce threats to ocean ecosystems and resources.
(I) Address coastal water contamination from biological pathogens, including collaborative projects and activities to identify the sources of pathogens and develop detection systems and treatment methods.
(J) (i) Provide funding for adaptive management, planning, coordination, monitoring, research, and other necessary activities to minimize the adverse impacts of climate change on California’s ocean ecosystem, including, but not limited to, the effects of sea level rise, changes in ocean productivity, and ocean acidification on coastal and ocean habitat, wildlife, fisheries, chemistry, and other key attributes of ocean ecosystems and to increase the state’s understanding of the ocean’s role in carbon sequestration. Adaptive management strategies, planning, research, monitoring, or other activities shall be designed to improve the management of coastal and ocean resources or aid the state to adapt to climate change impacts.
(ii) Information or activities developed under clause (i), to the extent appropriate, shall provide guidance to the State Air Resources Board for the adoption of early action measures for the elimination or reduction of emissions from sources or categories of sources pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code).
(c) Grants or loans may be made to a private entity pursuant to this section only for projects or activities that further public purposes consistent with Sections 35510, 35515, 35617, and 35632.
(d) Consistent with the purposes specified in Section 35515, and in furtherance of the findings in Sections 7059 and 7060 of the Fish and Game Code, the council, in authorizing grants or loans for projects or expenditures pursuant to this section, shall promote coordination of state programs and activities that protect and conserve ocean resources to avoid redundancy and conflicts to ensure that the state’s programs and activities are complementary.
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 846, Sec. 2. (SB 1363) Effective January 1, 2017.)