• develop and maintain an ocean resources planning and management program to promote and ensure coordinated management of federal and State resources, and to ensure coordination with adjacent states;

• ensure effective participation in federal planning and management of ocean resources and uses which may affect this State; and

• coordinate state agency management of ocean resources with local government management of coastal zone uses and resources above the mean high tide line.

The 1991 amendments to the California Ocean Resources Management Act transferred all responsibility for marine and coastal resource management programs to the Secretary for Resources. Duties and responsibilities transferred include all executive branch delegations regarding review and coordination of federal outer continental shelf (OCS) oil and gas lease sales and development projects; policy coordination of resources management and uses in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ); State representation on the Coastal States Organization and the Department of the Interior's OCS Policy Committee; and any other involvements in marine and coastal resource matters. While the authority for many ocean management issues rests with the Resources Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency oversees development of ocean water quality standards and regulation of waste discharges to the marine environment.

Program Mission and Goals

The mission of the California Ocean Resources Management Program (Program) is:

To ensure comprehensive and coordinated management, conservation and enhancement of California's ocean resources for their intrinsic value and for the benefit of current and future generations.

Four goals have been established to guide the Program in realizing this mission.

• Goal 1: Stewardship
  To assess, conserve, and manage California's ocean resources and the ecosystem that supports those resources.

• Goal 2: Economic Sustainability
  To encourage environmentally sound, sustainable, and economically beneficial ocean resource development activities.

• Goal 3: Research, Education and Technology
  To advance research, educational programs, and technology developments to meet future needs and uses of the ocean.

• Goal 4: Jurisdiction and Ownership
  To maximize California's interests within State Tidelands, the Territorial Sea, and the Exclusive Economic Zone.

These goals can be achieved through a mix of government, private sector, and public/private partnership arrangements, but in all cases, can only be achieved through cooperative efforts and understanding among the diverse group of stakeholders in ocean resource management.

The California Ocean Resources Management Act also requires the Resources Agency to develop a strategy which addresses California's economic, environmental, aesthetic, recreational, and scientific needs regarding the use and enjoyment of the State's outstanding ocean resources. In response, Program staff prepared California's Ocean Resources: An Agenda for the Future which describes California's ocean ecosystem, identifies the contribution of selected ocean-dependent industries to the California economy, summarizes the statutes and agency management roles that relate to ocean management, and identifies a mission and four goals for the State to pursue. The Ocean Agenda also analyzes some major ocean management issues, offers specific recommendations for addressing these issues, and provides an approach for the Governor, the Legislature, government agencies, industry, and the public to use in improving the management of California's precious ocean resources.

California's Ocean Resources: An Agenda for the Future

The March 1997 Ocean Agenda identifies and addresses nine ocean management issues that face the State of California now, or are likely to in the reasonably foreseeable future. Specific recommendations are made for addressing these issues, and are intended to help achieve the mission and goals of the Ocean Program.

Three chapters address natural processes and some uses which affect these processes:

• Habitats and Living Resources
• Water Quality
• Shoreline Erosion

• Ports and Harbors
• Oil, Gas and Other Mineral Resource Extraction
• Vessel Traffic Safety
• Tourism and Recreation
• Education, Research and Technology
• Desalination -- Producing Potable Water