This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund.
Late-afternoon sun glinted on the harbor as people busied themselves on boat decks or glided through ocean water paddle boards on Saturday. On the steps of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, the sound of people chatting intermixed with ukulele melody. The number of people grew as afternoon turned to evening. They were scientists and venture capitalists, artists, politicians, museum staff, and community members, there to celebrate the kickoff of the inaugural California Ocean Summit.
The summit, spearheaded in part by Dr. Laura Francis of the Sea Forward Ocean Health Fund and Assemblymember Gregg Hart, will take place December 9-11.
“The idea came to me to bring together ocean policy experts, marine researchers, philanthropists, advocates, arts people to talk about the need to really dig in on ocean policy in California,” Hart said to the crowd on Saturday.
Hart said that plans for the summit started when Community Environmental Council Chief Executive Officer Sigrid Wright put him in touch with Francis. Together, the California Central Coastal Caucus Foundation, which Hart co-chairs, and the Sea Forward Fund, are two entities leading the event.
Francis pointed to a building at the harbor’s edge. There, she said, was her office for her first full-time job at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Francis worked for NOAA for 27 years.
“At NOAA, I saw firsthand that one of the most impactful ways to accomplish something, like establishing a marine protected area, is bringing people together,” she said. “So all the stakeholders listen to each other and find a path forward to solve problems together.”
The summit, Francis said, aims to bring different groups together to discuss and make plans for ocean stewardship initiatives, from integrating virtual reality technology to further the reach of marine education to laying out science-backed policy to protect California’s coastal waters.
Over three days, the summit will include working sessions, expert panels, and a keynote address from Dr. Dawn Wright, chief scientist at the geographic information system company Esri.
A laundry list of local organizations are already involved. At the event, Assemblymember Hart said the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians are serving as ocean stewards for the summit. Locally based companies such as Deckers and Yardi — as well as local institutions like the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, the Maritime Museum, the Santa Barbara Zoo, the Community Environmental Council, and others — are also involved in supporting the event.
Francis said that the “blue economy,” or maritime and freshwater ecosystem economy, has untapped potential.
“The Ocean Summit brings together science solutions in a really collaborative and friendly and open setting to amplify and strengthen partners in the ocean ecosystem,” she said.
The summit will include investors like Matthew Stotts, the co-founder and partner of the venture capital firm Cerulean Ventures, which is aimed at backing projects that use artificial intelligence to tackle environmental problems.
“We really believe that the environmental challenges that we face actually are opportunities for innovation,” he said.
The summit, Stotts said, will include a showcase at the Community Environmental Council’s Environmental Hub, located on State Street. The showcase will feature startups and emerging ocean science technologies.
Assemblymember Hart acknowledged that Santa Barbara has long been a locus of ocean conservation initiatives, especially in light of two major oil spills in the past 60 years. Hart noted that this year marked the 50th anniversary of the California Coastal Act. Santa Barbara’s 1969 Oil Spill, which inspired the first Earth Day, also served as impetus for the act. Then, he said, there was the 2015 spill off of the Gaviota Coast.
From left to right: Assemblymember Gregg Hart, Sea Forward Fund founder Laura Francis, Senator Monique Limón and Cerulean Ventures co-founder Matthew Stotts at the California Ocean Summit kickoff event on August 22. | Credit: Sarita Relis
“We’ve learned twice in my lifetime what an environmental catastrophe looks like when it washes ashore,” he said. “But we’ve also learned something else as well: that tragedy does not have to be the end of the story; it can become the beginning of change.”
The push comes at a time when the federal government is working to restart oil drilling off California’s Coast. In December 2025, the Trump administration invoked the Defense Production Act to allow the oil company Sable to restart production in Santa Barbara County from its offshore platforms. The act would allow it to transport through oil through two onshore pipelines; one ruptured in 2015 causing the Gaviota spill. A lengthy legal battle continues; last week, a federal judge ruled the act takes precedence over a 2020 order that gave the state authority to decide if Sable’s pipeline was safe to transport oil.
Hart said that while there’s evidence that environmental policy is popular among Californians, it can take a backseat when it comes to discussions of ongoing issues, like the high cost of living.
State Senator and President Pro Tempore Monique Limón, another member of the California Coastal Caucus, said that California’s coast impacts the entire state, from seaside communities to inland businesses that rely on goods from ports.
Registration for the event is open and a limited number of tickets are available here.
