Marine Resources Program overview

The diverse marine resources found in Oregon support commercial and recreational fisheries and attract visitors who enjoy wildlife viewing opportunities. These activities contribute hundreds of millions in income and over a billion in economic activity annually, benefitting coastal Oregon communities and beyond.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (ODFW) Marine Resources Program (MRP) encompasses all 362 miles of Oregon’s coastline and bays, extending out to 200 nautical miles offshore. MRP has primary management of Oregon’s Territorial Sea, which extends out to three nautical miles and is considered ‘waters of the state.’ ODFW also has management of the Marine Conservation Zone, which extends out to 50 nautical miles. In many cases, MRP shares co-management responsibility with federal, regional, tribal, and international decision-makers.

MRP is headquartered in Newport with offices in Astoria, Charleston and Brookings. Staff are also stationed in other ODFW offices in Tillamook, Oregon City and Adair. A variety of personnel work together to cover all aspects of the program, including marine biology, ecology, fishery management, policy, research, social science, technical data and outreach.

Building understanding

Understanding marine fish, wildlife and habitats and our connections with them is essential to making the best decisions about sustaining ocean and estuary resources.

MRP does this by:

• Conducting scientific research on marine species, habitats and changing ocean conditions.
• Sampling and monitoring species to assess populations.
• Collaborating with partners to increase our ability to collect data.
• Valuing local knowledge and input from the public.
• Examining how people value, use and depend on ocean resources.

Benefiting Oregon’s species, ecosystems and people

The ultimate goal of MRP is to work for the long-term benefit of Oregon’s species, ecosystems and people.

This is done by:

• Recommending technical and scientific solutions to emerging issues in marine resource management and decision making.
• Representing Oregon in regional groups, policy councils and commissions that make marine resource management decisions.
• Bringing partners and community members together to incorporate their expertise and local knowledge into management solutions.

Taking action now

MRP works to ensure resources and opportunity for today and into the future.

Taking action now to fulfill this includes:

• Managing annual and seasonal catch limits by collecting harvest information from commercial and recreational fishing activities.
• Managing impacts on marine species and habitats to ensure long-term sustainability and continued fishing opportunities.
• Developing policy and regulations to manage fisheries within sustainable levels.
• Working with agency partners to enforce rules, keep us safe, and protect fish and wildlife.

Our work

Every step that MRP takes advances the goal of sustaining ocean and estuary resources for today and for future generations. Examples of MRP actions to work toward this outcome include:

• Oregon Nearshore Strategy Provides details on nearshore fish and wildlife species, their habitats, and conservation needs to help the department, and others, develop strategies and partnerships for long-term sustainable management of Oregon’s marine fish and wildlife and their habitats. The strategy includes potential effects of global climate change and ocean acidification on Oregon’s nearshore environment and resources and recommends actions to address these growing concerns. It is also designed to inspire Oregonians to explore, appreciate and protect our state’s natural resources. To learn more, visit the Oregon Nearshore Strategy.

• Marine mammal monitoring Provides information used by fishery managers to evaluate the added risk to stock recovery resulting from pinniped predation. MRP, along with the support of National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), studies pinnipeds in Oregon, focusing research in three areas: assessment of population status and trends, description of food habits and foraging behaviors, and examination of site-specific situations where locally abundant pinnipeds might have negative impact on depleted fishery resources. This information is also used by managers and legislators who may wish to propose and implement changes to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, with the objective of providing a more balanced approach to the conservation of both fishery resources and marine mammal populations. To learn more, visit MRP’s Marine mammal research.

• Fishery management plans These plans describe the knowledge of our commercial and recreationally important fish and shellfish species and our management approach to optimize our fisheries, while maintaining ecosystem integrity. These plans are posted, and more are created as opportunity and resources allow.

• Ocean energy MRP works proactively to integrate new marine renewable energy development in a responsible way by working to identify potential impacts to fish and wildlife and habitat, as well as ocean users and ways to avoid, minimize or mitigate such impacts. More information about marine renewable information is on the Ocean energy pages.

• Ocean acidification and hypoxia (OAH) Ocean acidification and hypoxia are projected to intensify and threaten our wild fisheries and rich ocean ecosystems. To sustain Oregon’s marine-based food supply and our cultural and economic well-being, the Oregon legislature formed the Oregon Coordinating Council on Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia (OAH council). This council recommends taking action to understand, adapt to, and mitigate OAH in an iterative process, including repeated public input, scientific inquiry and action planning. Further information about the OAH council is available online.

• Marine reserves These reserves were created to conserve marine habitats and biodiversity, as well as serve as living laboratories where we can learn about Oregon’s nearshore ocean environment and the effects that protection has over time. Research also focuses on understand the variety of ways that people and communities may be affected by the reserves. This research is helping inform how we can best manage our coastal waters into the future. For more information about each site and the research, visit Oregon Marine Reserves.

• Advisory groups MRP forms advisory groups to gather input on the management of fisheries. One example, a market squid advisory panel was formed after the fishery grew dramatically and created a need for input on minimizing bycatch of Dungeness crab and other species, reducing interactions between Dungeness crab pots and squid nets, and ensuring long-term fishery sustainability. Similarly, a Tillamook Bay clam advisory committee was formed to consider and make recommendations pertaining to bay clam management with members representing commercial, recreational and conservation interests. MRP strives to bring partners and community members together to ensure expertise and local knowledge is incorporated into management solutions.

• Bycatch reduction By working with the pink shrimp industry, research led to gear design which vastly reduced the amount of bycatch of unwanted or non-targeted species such as eulachon, juvenile rockfish, and other species, resulting in rates below five percent, while not affecting shrimp catch. The two key methods developed use LED lights and bycatch reduction devices, which are now a gear requirement for the fishery. More information on this success story can be found on the Commercial pink shrimp fishery pages.

• Descending devices MRP conducted extensive research to understand the effects of barotrauma, the injuries some fish receive when released after being caught.  The research resulted in the development and acceptance of rockfish descender devices, which are used to increase survival of rockfish by dropping them to a depth where the pressure relieves the barotrauma symptoms. The Rockfish recompression page covers more information on this subject.

• Crab traceability Working with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, MRP implemented a rule requiring commercial ocean Dungeness crab harvest area be recorded when crab are delivered to market. This rule allows crab to be tracked through the market chain to protect public health. Learn more about this process on the Crab domoic acid rules advisory committee information page.

• Reducing risk of marine life entanglement MRP is working on building solutions to further reduce the risk of whale and other marine life entanglements in gear by working with the industry, sport fishermen, conservation groups, federal agencies and others. To find out more about the measures taken, visit the Marine life entanglement page.

• Improving stock assessments Assessing the population levels of fish and shellfish stocks is essential for maintaining sustainable fisheries. MRP recently completed a survey of black, blue, and deacon rockfishes to improve stock assessments for these species. Data from this survey was used by NMFS stock assessment scientists and managers in setting fishery quotas for these species. To learn more about this project, visit the Fisheries independent estimates of fish populations page.

• Life history understanding Building species understanding by researching age, growth and maturity improves stock assessments and management decisions for that species. MRP has completed studies and improved the knowledge about several species, including deacon rockfish, redbanded rockfish, kelp greenling, copper rockfish, vermilion rockfish, quillback rockfish, China rockfish, yelloweye rockfish and petrale sole. To learn more, visit the Biological and life history research for stock assessments page.

• Mapping and characterizing marine habitat MRP maps marine habitats and conducts surveys to understand the fish, invertebrate and algal communities that depend on those habitats. Surveys also provide information to improve stock assessments and protect sensitive habitats from development. MRP studies changes occurring in the marine environment such as the decline in kelp bed habitat and monitoring hypoxia effects on seafloor communities. Visit the Marine Habitat Project page to learn more.

• Fisheries monitoring and sampling MRP staff interview anglers and sample catches to determine the amount and kinds of fish and shellfish caught. They also gather biological information from the landed catch, including lengths, weights, and otoliths or other structures that can be used to determine a fish’s age. The information collected is used to monitor progress toward quotas, inform stock assessments, and assist in the development of management recommendations for the best use of Oregon’s fishery resources. The data are incorporated into two West Coast data systems:
• Commercial fishery data into the Pacific Fishery Information Network (PacFIN)
• Sport fishery data into the Recreational Fishery Information Network (RecFIN)

• Shellfish and estuary assessment MRP conducts bay clam population and estuarine habitat studies throughout the major bays along the coast of Oregon. The project’s primary focus includes documenting where recreationally important bay clams are found and the abundance, biomass, and preferred habitat type for each species. The information gathered is used to assist in making management decisions to conserve clam populations and estuaries for future generations to enjoy. Visit the Shellfish and estuarine assessment of coastal Oregon pages to learn more about this project and see maps of their findings.

• State and Federal fishery management MRP is involved in fisheries policy and management at the state, regional, federal, and, for some species, international level to ensure that fish and shellfish resources are managed for long-term sustainability. This often involves negotiating with neighboring states or countries and cooperating to preserve healthy stocks, habitat, and communities. Some of the fisheries management entities that we work with include International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, and Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC). 

• Monitoring harmful algae bloom The data collected by this project is used to develop an early warning system which enables coastal shellfish managers along the Pacific Northwest to know if shellfish could be impacted by a deadly toxin. To learn more about this project, visit the Harmful-algae – Monitoring Oregon’s coastal harmful algae page.