CARES Act Fisheries Relief for California

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has created a web page dedicated to CARES Act Fisheries Relief for California.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020. On May 7, 2020, the Secretary of Commerce announced the allocation of $300 million in fisheries assistance funding provided by the CARES Act to states, Tribes, and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants who have been negatively affected by COVID-19. The State of California was allocated $18,350,586 which will be disbursed to address fishery-related losses related to COVID-19.

CDFW is developing a spending plan consistent with the CARES Act and NOAA’s guidance. The overarching goals of the spending plan are to distribute the funds equitably and efficiently with a focus on assistance to smaller businesses that may not have access to other types of relief provided by the CARES Act. Please visit CDFW’s new CARES Act Fisheries Relief for California web page for more information and details on the spending plan and how to apply as they become available.

For more information, please visit https://wildlife.ca.gov/Regions/Marine/CARES-Act or email CARESfisheriesInfo@wildlife.ca.gov.

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Post by CDFW Marine Region Staff

Marine Region’s 2019 Year in Review Now Available!

The 2019 Year in Review is now available for your reading pleasure along with its companion document By the Numbers. The Year in Review is a condensed one-stop shop of the entire year’s accomplishments and our By the Numbers summarizes some of the most important commercial and recreational fishing numbers for your easy review. In other words, if you only read two documents from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Marine Region this year, these are them!

From the Marine Region Manager: 2015 Year in Review

2015 Marine Region projects summary (click image)

I will remember 2015 as a year characterized by unusual ocean conditions, uncommon events and some very rare circumstances. What started off as a relatively “normal” year quickly changed in mid-April with the closing of the West Coast sardine fishery. Just over a month later the Refugio oil spill occurred, resulting in widespread ecological damage and a six week fishing closure along the Gaviota coast in the Santa Barbara Channel.

As abnormally warm ocean waters blanketed the coast throughout summer and fall, semi-tropical and tropical species were observed off our shores. The warm water brought not only red crabs and sea snakes to Southern California beaches, but some great fishing.

From the Marine Region Manager: 2014 Year in Review

2014 Region Projects Summary (click image)

As stated in our mission, science and communication are the cornerstones of everything we do in the Marine Region. On any given day, Marine Region staff can be found along California’s 1,100 mile coastline examining the ocean’s flora and fauna both under water and in the lab, engaging stakeholders through public meetings and informal discussions, and out on the docks surveying and distributing the myriad of outreach materials we produce. In 2014, we prepared a special marine issue in the 100th volume of California Fish and Game that highlighted the cutting-edge science performed by Marine Region staff. We also unveiled the new and

From The Marine Region Manager

Craig Shuman

Many sense the arrival of autumn as the days grow shorter, the kids go back to school, and a certain crisp chill pervades the air. For Marine Region staff and many of you out there, some additional signs of autumn include the winding up of salmon and some groundfish seasons, and the beginning of spiny lobster and Dungeness crab seasons. I encourage you to take advantage of the precious autumn sunshine, the glorious weather, and unusually warm water by dusting off the hoop nets, crab pots, or dive gear and getting out to the ocean to enjoy our magnificent marine resources.