SACRAMENTO - The California Environmental Affairs Agency will sponsor a series of workshops Friday, June 29 in Santa Barbara to give fisherman an update on projects aimed at minimizing the effects of offshore oil drilling.

The day-long series of workshops will begin at 9 a.m. at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum and are open to all commercial fishermen and the public.

The projects cover a wide range of needs, from clean-up of debris on the ocean floor to developing fishing gear that can open new territories further offshore, and marketing help to expand sales of California commercial fish.

The program was begun two years ago, in an effort to help commercial fishing operations offset the effect of expanded offshore oil development along the California coast. That could include interrupted fishing operations, lost dock and repair space for ships, or the loss of fishing territories near shore that conflict with drilling operations.

Over $6 million in project are coordinated by the Environmental Affairs Agency, funded by royalties paid by the Federal government for oil drilling adjacent to the state-owned reserves.

Most of the workshops will involve local fisherman who are researching new types of fishing gear and developing new fishing areas.

Among the organizations participating in the program are the State Lands Commission and the state departments of Fish and Game and Agriculture; the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations; commercial fishing marketing groups and the State Coastal Conservancy.