We Showed Up in Santa Monica. Now We Keep the Pressure On.
Nearly 175 people gathered in Santa Monica on August 10 ahead of NOAA’s public hearing on California’s Coastal Management Program. Fish On joined state and Indigenous leaders, elected officials, business owners, conservation organizations, and coastal community members came together with a clear message: Hands off California’s Coast!
Background
NOAA is conducting a new review of California’s Coastal Management program which under the Coastal Zone Management Act has had fifty years of success in giving us, as Californians, a role in considering how federal projects could affect our coastal resources, public access, and our communities.The timing of this review is not normal. NOAA typically evaluates state coastal management programs every five to ten years, but California’s was just thoroughly evaluated in 2024.
Now, in an effort to bypass our public process and greenlight new offshore oil and other industrial development on our coast, the federal government has launched this review.. We could lose our ability to push back on industries that would put our coast, fisheries, and communities at risk.
Community Gathering and NOAA Hearing
On the traditional lands of the Gabrielino Tongva and Chumash Peoples, communities from across the state came together around a shared value that has made California’s coast so iconic—our beaches are for everyone to enjoy. Signs, chants, and cheers welcomed speakers as they spoke about what California’s coast means to them and their constituencies.
“You can’t fish in an ocean that's been destroyed.” said Fish On Founder and Executive Director Anupa Asokan. “So let's protect the coast we have, invest in the communities that depend on it, and make the decisions about our coast here in California—not in Washington, DC”
That concern reached well beyond the fishing community. Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, Congresswoman Nanette Barragán, and California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot were among the leaders who spoke ahead of the NOAA hearing.
Crowfoot called the review “the most alarming threat to our coast in decades,” a concern echoed throughout the gathering as people pushed back on the idea of California having less say in what happens off our own coast.
Again and again, we heard people describe a connection to the coast that was personal, cultural, economic, and generational. For some, it is where they fish. For others, it is where they work, surf, gather, steward ancestral waters, build businesses, or spend time with family.
That energy carried directly into NOAA’s hearing. Testimony after testimony came from people with different relationships to the coast but a shared passion to protect it.
What comes next?
The August 10 hearing is one part of a larger federal review, not a final decision. NOAA is gathering public input as part of its evaluation of California’s Coastal Management Program. Virtual public hearings continue on August 11 and 12, and NOAA will accept written public comments through August 22.
Our fishing community cannot be removed from decisions that affect the future of our fisheries. We showed up in Santa Monica, and we will continue showing up throughout this process. You can too.
Submit your public comment to NOAA by August 22: https://win.newmode.net/fishon/defendcaliforniascoast
