California Commits to Addressing Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia

At its March 3, 2025 meeting, the California Ocean Protection Council adopted a resolution thanks to The Otter Project’s advocacy to elevate and communicate the state’s commitment to addressing ocean acidification and hypoxia (OAH). The actions within this resolution build upon ongoing efforts to understand and mitigate OAH, given the potential for OAH to cause large and irreversible effects on California’s coast and ocean. 

OAH refers to a chemical process by which our oceans are becoming more acidic and oxygen-depleted. The consequences to ocean habitats and food webs are catastrophic – higher acidity causes problems for oysters, crab, mussels, urchins, salmon, rockfish, and other species that Californians care deeply about, while lower oxygen can make areas of the ocean completely inhospitable to life. 

The Otter Project has long advocated for the state to take action on OAH. Although largely understood as a global phenomenon driven by carbon dioxide emissions, OAH on California’s coast is also exacerbated by human-caused pollution. Top scientists have demonstrated that nutrient inputs from coastal sewage wastewater discharges cause devastating OAH ‘hot spots’ in Southern California. These hot spots, especially in combination with warming ocean temperatures, threaten the survival and viable habitat of marine species and fisheries.

While OAH hot spots are devastating, they also have a straightforward solution: California must develop an OAH Policy that limits the discharge of nutrient pollution into coastal waters, thus reducing the impacts of OAH. While the best time to start this work was years ago, the next best time is now. There is no time to wait.

The Ocean Protection Council’s resolution demonstrates that the scientific models are the best available science in the world and should be used to inform water quality standards, while reiterating their support for California to adopt an OAH Policy. The Otter Project is working directly with the State Water Board to move a policy forward and stop this preventable harm to California’s coastal waters.