Reflections from California Ocean Day

By: Steven Del Castillo, Fish On Ambassador

Before joining the Fish On Ambassador Program I had no idea about California Ocean Day. California Ocean Day is an annual event in which people from across the state who enjoy and want to take care of the ocean get together in Sacramento to advocate for its well-being. What’s great is that you’ll find different representations in terms of how people interact with the ocean—surfers, tidepoolers, conservationists, wildlife viewers, anglers, etc.  

The day we went was the 50th anniversary of California Ocean Day! Wow. I’ve been fishing in California for over 25 years and I can’t remember hearing about California Ocean Day. 

Ambassador Program Manager Matthew Koller and Fish On Ambassadors Zain, Austin, and Steven review materials ahead of meetings with legislators.

Ocean Day Recap

As Fish On Ambassadors, our goal was to meet with legislators to let them know why the ocean is important to us, and how we would like to protect it. For the first part of the day we had four scheduled meetings with representatives from across California. The Fish On team tried to schedule meetings with the Ambassadors’ local reps to better relate and provide first-hand experience from our communities. For the second half of the day we ended up splitting into two groups. One group met with more legislative offices, and the other attended presentations and talks hosted by California Ocean Day organizers. I attended the afternoon presentations where I learned about access issues for youth groups who enjoy surfing and about the Tijuana River Coalition—a group raising awareness about the public health crisis in the Tijuana River Watershed.

Fish On Ambassadors Steven and Austin with Founder and Executive Director Anupa Asokan during a meeting in an Assemblymember’s office.

My Ocean Day Experience

Attending California Ocean Day was a great experience and I left excited to find ways to provide sustainable ocean health solutions. I had a fantastic time learning about all the agencies who work hard to manage and protect our ocean and coastline. What was truly special was being a part of the day advocating for ocean health but with an anglers perspective. In total, our team met with 9 different legislative offices where we advocated for different bills, and shared why it’s important to be able to have fishing rights in our communities. One bill we advocated for was SB 1268 by Senator Lena Gonzalez which would establish the state’s Outdoors for All initiative into law. This bill will ensure “every Californian—regardless of income, race, or geography—can access parks, trails, and open space.” We provided an anglers perspective of why it’s important for us to have equitable rights to be able to fish and harvest from a healthy ocean. Eating fish is excellent nutrition for our health, and also very delicious. Additionally, being out and doing the activity provides anglers with mental health benefits. As a Fish On Ambassador, we advocated for fishing rights but from a sustainable management perspective. A healthy ecosystem benefits everyone and it’s important not just for anglers but for all who enjoy and love the ocean, to get involved. If you are able to, I highly recommend you attend the next California Ocean Day. You’ll get to meet people who care deeply about protecting the ocean, learn about the various ways people like to enjoy the water and get comfortable getting involved in the decisions that impact our time in the ocean. 

Thank you Fish On for providing me the incredible opportunity to attend California Ocean Day! I’m sure it won’t be my last.

Subscribe for updates and to receive information on the next round of the Fish On Ambassador program.