Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced a new initiative to open significantly larger portions of the U.S. continental shelf to offshore oil and gas drilling, including waters off California that have remained free from new leases for decades. These proposals would expand industrial activity into areas long protected because of their extraordinary ecological value and the serious risks drilling poses to marine ecosystems and coastal communities.
For us at TIRN, this represents a troubling step backward at a time when our oceans—and our climate—require stronger safeguards, not greater industrial pressure. Offshore drilling threatens whales, sea turtles, fisheries, seabirds, and fragile ocean habitats, while putting coastal economies at risk. Past disasters have demonstrated how devastating oil spills can be, and even routine drilling operations introduce chronic pollution, underwater noise, and habitat disruption. At a moment when science calls for a transition away from fossil fuels, expanding offshore drilling further entrenches dependence on them.
These broader federal efforts to open ocean waters to industrial use are also reflected in proposals affecting protected marine ecosystems closer to home — including Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Located just 50 miles northwest of San Francisco, Cordell Bank is an exceptionally productive, biodiversity-rich underwater oasis. Driven by intense ocean upwelling, it serves as a critical feeding ground for endangered whales, leatherback sea turtles, and more than a quarter-million seabirds each year.
Newly proposed regulations would open more than 50 square miles of currently protected sanctuary waters to commercial fishing activities, including longline fishing, bottom trawling, hook-and-line, and pot trap fishing. These fisheries could increase risks to vulnerable marine mammals and endangered species, yet the current Environmental Assessment does not provide sufficient analysis to fully understand these impacts.
Existing protections have helped several rockfish species begin recovering from decades of overfishing, but many populations remain fragile — particularly yelloweye rockfish, which can live more than 100 years. Lost and abandoned fishing gear has already caused documented long-term damage to Cordell Bank’s rocky reef habitats, home to deep-sea corals, sponges, and diverse invertebrate communities that support the entire food web.
Cordell Bank provides essential habitat for groundfish, migratory species, marine mammals, and seabirds that depend on healthy seafloor ecosystems. Opening protected areas now sets a dangerous precedent at a time when ocean ecosystems are already under increasing stress from climate change and warming waters — and when expanding offshore drilling threatens to compound those risks across California’s coast.
With your support, TIRN is actively working to oppose these harmful proposals through advocacy, public outreach, and science-based ocean protection. We are amplifying public voices and engaging decision-makers to defend marine sanctuaries and prevent expanded offshore drilling along our coast. Together, we can protect marine wildlife, safeguard coastal communities, and ensure future generations inherit healthy, thriving oceans.
