Department of Fish and Wildlife: Kelp Restoration and Resilience Program: Kelp Restoration Science Advisory Committee.

Existing law establishes the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Fish and Wildlife Commission and sets forth the powers and duties of the department and the commission. Existing law authorizes the commission to make regulations, as may be necessary, to insure the proper harvesting of kelp and other aquatic plants. Existing law requires, upon the application and payment of a specified fee, the department to issue a license granting the privilege to harvest kelp or other aquatic plants. This bill would require, to the extent funds are available from bonds, appropriations by the Legislature, or other private and public sources, the department to establish and administer, in consultation with the Ocean Protection Council and other relevant entities, a Kelp Restoration and Resilience Program for the purpose of achieving numerous biological and scientific goals regarding kelp, including supporting kelp recovery and preservation efforts in all coastal areas of California and conducting statewide monitoring of kelp forests to assess overall health. The bill would require the department, when implementing the program, to consider approaches that provide multiple cobenefits, including, but not limited to, improving commercial fisheries, improving water quality, reducing ocean acidification, and incorporating carbon dioxide removal and long-term carbon sequestration considerations. The bill would also require the Director of Fish and Wildlife to establish, by January 1, 2022, a Kelp Restoration Science Advisory Committee with a specified membership to advise the department on the implementation of the program, provide scientific guidance and expertise to state agencies to support the recovery of kelp ecosystems on the California coast, and to perform numerous related tasks, as prescribed.