Boerner Horvath’s Bill to Strengthen and Expand the Carlsbad Marine Hatchery Program Signed by Governor
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SACRAMENTO — AB 1949, Assemblymember Boerner Horvath’s bill to strengthen and expand the marine hatchery program in Carlsbad was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.
The Leon Raymond Hubbard Jr. Marine Fish Hatchery in Carlsbad is the only salt-water fish hatchery on the West Coast and operates as the main facility for the Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program (OREHP). As the longest-running program of this kind in the country, the OREHP has significantly contributed to the world’s understanding of how to successfully spawn, rear, and release saltwater fish.
AB 1949 reforms the program in step with the core recommendations from a California Sea Grant evaluation conducted by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the state’s request in 2015. This includes a restructuring of the program’s advisory panel so that it facilitates a more direct decision-making process while providing stakeholders with more appropriate representation, among other changes.
“The combination of stakeholder control and independent oversight will ensure that taxpayer dollars that go towards hatchery operations are being used efficiently and in a way that benefits all of us,” said Assemblymember Boerner Horvath. “This bill gives us a shot at securing a sustainable fishing future by equipping us with the tools needed to become effective stewards of our marine resources. I’m looking forward to everything that we’ll be able to accomplish with this new and improved program.”