About OSPR-MISP

OSPR's Marine Invasive Species Program (MISP) began conducting field-based surveys in 2000 under mandate by the Ballast Water Management for Control of Nonindigenous Species Act of 1999.  The 2006 Coastal Ecosystem Protection Act removed the sunset date.

MISP's responsibilities include posting data from monitoring efforts on the internet, updating the data on an annual basis, and submitting a report to the Legislature detailing the results of the monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of the MISP on a triennial basis. The triennial report requirement has been lifted since the 2014 report (PDF).

MISP collaborates with the California State Lands Commission (CSLC) to regulate and minimize the introduction of Nonindigenous Species (NIS) into California by ocean-going vessels. MISP is partners with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) to conduct biological surveys monitoring the coastal waters of California to determine the level of invasion by NIS; and San Jose State University's Moss Landing Marine Labs (MLML) to conduct genetic analysis of NIS.