Department of Fish and Game

About OSPR
Scientific Branch
Marine Invasive Species Monitoring Program (MISMP)

The Marine Invasive Species Program is a multi-agency effort to control the introduction on Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) from the ballast of ocean-going vessels. Under this program, the Department of Fish and Game is required to conduct studies to determine the level of invasion in the coastal and estuarine waters of the state, and monitor for new introductions to determine whether the program's ballast control measures are effective.

To fulfill this requirement, the Department's Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) initiated several baseline field surveys of ports and bays along the California coast in 2000/2002, expanded that baseline to include outer coast sites in 2004, and is now monitoring those sites for new introductions.

Nicolea sp. A, a non-native polychaete worm

Photo copyright Leslie Harris, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

Bays and Estuaries Baseline

 

Outer Coast Baseline

(Updates are being processed)

Legislation

Legislation (SB497) was passed in 2006 that deleted the sunset provision that would have ended the Marine Invasive Species Program as of January, 2010. The program is now on-going, and the Department of Fish and Game has been given several new reporting responsibilities:

  • Data from the monitoring effort must be posted to the internet and updated on an annual basis. The first update is the Outer Coast report above (revisions coming soon). Subsequent updates will be posted in January each year begining in 2008.
  • A report must be drafted and submitted to the Legislature detailing the results of the monitoring studies and an assessment of the effectiveness of the MISP in controlling introductions from ship-related vectors. This report is due January 1, 2009, and will be updated every three years thereafter.  All reports will be posted to this site upon completion.

Schedule and Maps of Sampling Locations for ongoing studies:

Outer Coast Stations San Diego Stations
SF Intertidal Stations SF Subtidal Stations
Bays & Estuaries Schedule of field studies
ISS Station Codes for Outlet Coast, San Diego
& San Francisco station maps 		 

invasive species

Database of All NIS

Additionally, OSPR manages a database that contains the name and location of every known non-native species on the California coast. Known as CANOD (California Aquatic Non-native Organism Database), the database includes information about the pathway of introduction (e.g. ballast water, hull fouling, etc.), date of introduction, locations observed, and native region of each species. CANOD will be refined in the future as more surveys for non-native aquatic species are completed. 

California Aquatic Non-Native Organism Database (CANOD) -   zipped format , click to save locally and then unzip (updated 4-14-08)    

CANOD was developed by the California Dept. of Fish and Game – Office of Spill Prevention and Response to record baseline information about marine and estuarine non-native species on the California Coast. CANOD continues to be a tool to help monitor new introductions and to understand the patterns associated with those introductions.

CANOD includes species lists and other associated information for both non-native and native coastal aquatic species in California. New records are being added continually, and existing records are frequently updated and modified as new information becomes available. As such, CANOD is a dynamic database, so users should ensure that they have the most current copy of the database before making use of the data.

Before citing this database or using the information it contains in any published study, please contact OSPR to determine if any changes have been made or if any updates are pending.

Contact: sfoss@ospr.dfg.ca.gov.

Links to additional information regarding the Marine Invasive Species Program