California Ocean Science Trust (OST) (www.oceansciencetrust.org) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public-benefit corporation established pursuant to the California Ocean Resources Stewardship Act (CORSA) of 2000. The mission of OST is to ensure that the best available science is applied to California policies and management to successfully maintain healthy, resilient, and productive coastal and ocean ecosystems. Because OST is not a government entity, it can act as an independent and unbiased broker between policymakers and managers, and the scientific community.
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To achieve its mission and align with the purposes laid out in the enabling legislation, OST has two overarching organizational goals: 1) Facilitate two-way connections between the worlds of science and California coastal ocean policy and management and 2) Institutionalize the integration of the best science into California coastal ocean policy and decision-making.
MPA Monitoring Enterprise
OST’s keystone program, the MPA Monitoring Enterprise is leading the development and implementation of impartial, scientifically rigorous, and cost-effective monitoring of the statewide marine protected area (MPA) network being established under the California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA). Working at the boundary between science and management, the MPA Monitoring Enterprise provides a unique combination of science and policy expertise to implement monitoring that assesses ecosystem condition and evaluates the performance of the emerging statewide MPA network. The MPA Monitoring Enterprise does not advocate for or against the implementation of MPAs, but rather ensures that policymakers, resource managers, and the public have timely and useful information to support MPA management decisions.
Science Advising
OST provides science support and services to California state agencies and entities by coordinating expert advice, providing scientific review, advice, and feedback, and acting as a liaison and bridging institution between experts, producers of science, and decision-makers. OST's key partner in its science-support function is the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC), a cabinet-level body that spans across multiple agencies responsible for ocean and coastal jurisdictions. The OPC solicits the best available science to support its policy decisions and recommendations, making the Council an objective, nonpartisan body. While OST supports this mission through a number of activities, in particular OST’s Executive Director serves as Science Advisor to the OPC and co-chair of the OPC Science Advisory Team (OPC-SAT).
Science Initiatives
OST develops and implements a variety of science initiatives to span the complex nexus between science, policy, and management. OST’s initiatives are diverse, including coordination of project teams to conduct needed scientific studies to inform better ocean policy and management decisions, such as the Oil and Gas Decommissioning Study, the Marine Debris Report, and the Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning initiative. OST strives to provide the highest scientific rigor while ensuring that initiative outcomes offer tangible information and processes that are accessible to key decision-makers and non-scientific audiences.