The Fisheries Collaborative Program (FCP) at UC Santa Cruz is dedicated to advancing the science of fisheries ecology, fisheries resource management, and environmental research as related to marine and freshwater species and their habitats.

A part of the Institute of Marine Sciences, FCP fosters collaborations between faculty, researchers, and graduate students at UC Santa Cruz and scientists at the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center. Through fieldwork, laboratory experiments, and computational modeling, FCP conducts comprehensive studies with global impact on the conservation of threatened and endangered species, domestic and international fisheries management, and the understanding of climate change effects on marine and freshwater ecosystems. FCP is co-located with the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center on the UCSC Coastal Science Campus, with satellite research groups located in Monterey and La Jolla, CA. 

NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Santa Cruz Laboratory

In 2000, the National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Fisheries Science Center completed a new research laboratory on the UCSC Coastal Science Campus. Known as the Fisheries Ecology Division, this group studies demersal and anadromous fish of the California Current and adjacent waters. The division conducts stock assessments for the management of groundfish and salmon fisheries, and provides scientific information to support conservation of threatened and endangered anadromous species. Areas of active research include natural resource economics; molecular genetics; marine, estuarine and riverine habitat assessment; reproductive biology and early life history; fisheries oceanography; quantitative methods development; and the ecology of individuals, populations, communities and ecosystems. Through a Cooperative Agreement the presence of over 140 federal and UCSC scientists and staff has led to productive collaborations with UCSC faculty, researchers and graduate students. NOAA fisheries scientists support graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and a joint faculty position. They also share research facilities with IMS scientists, support collaborative research, mentor students and are members of dissertation committees.

U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

The UC Santa Cruz Earth and Planetary Sciences and Ocean Sciences Department faculty and students have maintained a long and productive relationship with the marine scientists of the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC) in Santa Cruz is located nearly adjacent to the Coastal Sciences Campus. The Center consists of about 100 scientists and support staff focused on studying the coasts of the western United States, including Alaska, Hawaii and Pacific Island Trust Territories.. Team scientists conduct research, monitor oceanographic and geological processes, and develop information about coastal and marine geologic hazards, environmental conditions, habitats, and energy and mineral resources. This information helps managers at all levels of government and in the private sector make informed decisions about the use and protection of national coastal and ocean resources. Through a Cooperative Agreement these scientists collaborate with IMS faculty and researchers and mentor and support graduate students and researchers.

U.S. Geological Survey-Western Ecological Research Center Santa Cruz Field Station

The sea otter research group, led by Adjunct Professors of Ecology and Environmental Biology Jim Estes and Tim Tinker, is based at Long Marine Laboratory and is a long-term UCSC-USGS cooperative unit, a field station of the USGS-Western Ecological Research Center with a primary responsibility for conducting conservation-based research on legally threatened sea otter populations.  Accordingly, their research also focuses on the factors causing sea otter population declines and limiting population recovery.  Working closely with a number of partner agencies (California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Monterey Bay Aquarium Sea Otter Research and Conservation, UC Davis Veterinary School, the Smithsonian Institution and Partnerships for Interdisciplinary Studies of the Coastal Ocean (PISCO) they employ a combination of field data collection and advanced analytical techniques to understand how various anthropogenic factors and community interactions together control sea otter population dynamics. Research results are used by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to inform policy and guide management decisions.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center

Since 1997, UCSC’s Coastal Sciences Campus has been home to the Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center (MWVCRC). The MWVCRC is the primary care facility for California sea otters affected by oil spills or other marine pollution events. In addition to maintaining the facility and protocols for oil spill response, MWVCRC staff and collaborators conduct research on southern sea otters and other marine wildlife. This facility also conducts research and investigations on the impacts of pathogens and other sources of pollution on sea otters and other marine vertebrates, through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Institute of Marine Sciences. Cooperative research is carried out at the facility shared with IMS scientists. 1451 Shaffer Rd, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (831)469-1719

Island Conservation

The mission of Island Conservation is to prevent extinctions by removing invasive species from islands. Of the 245 recorded animal extinctions since 1500, 80% were on islands and invasive species were responsible for over half of these. Island Conservation prevents extinctions by working where the concentration of both biodiversity and species extinction is the greatest—islands. Removing a primary threat—introduced invasive vertebrates—has proven to be one of the most critical interventions for saving threatened plans and animals and restoring island ecosystems and health. Island Conservation has long been affiliated with the Institute of Marine Sciences and works collaboratively with IMS faculty, researchers and students.

Partnerships for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO)

PISCO was initiated in 1999 and is a long-term research and monitoring program designed to understand the dynamics and changes in the large California Current ecosystem. This program has been funded primarily by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and is led by scientists from UCSC (Mark Carr and Pete Raimondi), and also involves UC Santa Barbara, Oregon State University and Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station.

Tagging of Pelagic Predators (TOPP)

TOPP began in 2000 as one of 17 projects of the International Census of Marine Life. Managed jointly by Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Lab, the University of California, Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory, NOAA’s Pacific Fisheries Ecosystems Lab, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, TOPP also includes team members from several countries. IMS principal investigator Dan Costa and his UCSC team tag and track marine mammals and seabirds throughout the Pacific Basin, using increasingly sophisticated tracking devices, learning about migration, ocean conditions, as well as the physiology and ecology and developing a much better understanding of how these animals fit into these large marine ecosystems.