Marine Resources Program Overview
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Marine Resources Program Overview January 2007 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS OREGON’S MARINE RESOURCES.......................................................................................................................3 MANAGEMENT AND POLICY ................................................................................................................................4 MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY ..........................................................................................................................4 WORKING WITH FISHERIES COUNCILS .........................................................................................................5 NEARSHORE MANAGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT .....................................................................................5 MARINE MAMMAL POLICY DEVELOPMENT ....................................................................................................6 LICENSING AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT..................................................................................................7 FISHERIES MANAGEMENT....................................................................................................................................8 RECREATIONAL GROUNDFISH......................................................................................................................8 COMMERCIAL GROUNDFISH.........................................................................................................................9 PACIFIC HALIBUT ........................................................................................................................................9 PACIFIC WHITING ......................................................................................................................................10 HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES....................................................................................................................11 COASTAL PELAGIC SPECIES......................................................................................................................12 DEVELOPMENTAL FISHERIES .....................................................................................................................13 COMMERCIAL CRAB FISHERY ....................................................................................................................14 RAZOR CLAM FISHERY..............................................................................................................................15 OTHER RECREATIONAL SHELLFISH FISHERIES ...........................................................................................16 COMMERCIAL SEA URCHIN FISHERY ..........................................................................................................17 PINK SHRIMP FISHERY MANAGEMENT........................................................................................................17 MONITORING ...........................................................................................................................................................19 FISHERIES SAMPLING................................................................................................................................19 OCEAN RECREATIONAL BOAT SURVEY (ORBS) ........................................................................................19 MONITORING THE COMMERCIAL SALMON FISHERY .....................................................................................20 COMMERCIAL OCEAN NON-SALMON MONITORING AND SAMPLING PROJECT...............................................21 BLACK ROCKFISH TAGGING STUDY ...........................................................................................................22 MARINE MAMMALS MONITORING ...............................................................................................................22 PINK SHRIMP MONITORING........................................................................................................................23 RAZOR CLAM STOCK ASSESSMENT...........................................................................................................23 MONITORING PHYTOPLANKTON – AN EARLY WARNING FOR SHELLFISH TOXIN PROBLEMS...........................24 RESEARCH...............................................................................................................................................................25 STUDYING THE MOVEMENT PATTERNS OF ROCKFISH..................................................................................25 BAROTRAUMA STUDIES.............................................................................................................................26 YELLOWEYE ROCKFISH SURVIVAL .............................................................................................................26 FINDING WAYS TO ALLOW ANGLERS TO TARGET CERTAIN SPECIES ...........................................................27 MARINE MAMMAL RESEARCH....................................................................................................................27 MARINE HABITAT SURVEYS.......................................................................................................................28 BYCATCH REDUCTION IN COMMERCIAL FISHERIES .....................................................................................28 TESTING IMAGING SONAR IN TRAWL NETS .................................................................................................30 FISH STOCK MATURITY AND AGEING STUDIES............................................................................................31 COOPERATIVE RESEARCH.........................................................................................................................31 APPENDICES................................................................................................................................................. MARINE RESOURCES PROGRAM STAFF MARINE RESOURCES PROGRAM PUBLICATIONS MARINE RESOURCES PROGRAM CONTACT AND PHONE NUMBERS ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 2 OREGON’S MARINE RESOURCES The Marine Resources Program (MRP) studies and manages the fish and marine mammals off Oregon’s 369 miles of coastline and the 1,410 miles of tidal shoreline. Oregon’s diverse marine habitat supports commercial fisheries that annually contribute more than $342 million in personal income to Oregon – about 7 percent of all income earned along the Oregon coast. Saltwater sport fishing accounts for an additional $50 million or more in economic contribution to the state, according to a 2005 report1. The natural beauty of the Oregon coast attracts millions of visitors each year who enjoy tide pooling, whale watching and other marine wildlife viewing opportunities. As part of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Fish Division, the MRP assesses and manages Oregon’s marine habitat, biological resources and fisheries (primarily groundfish, shellfish, coastal pelagic species, such as sardines, and highly migratory species such as albacore tuna). In addition to direct responsibilities in state waters (from shore to three miles seaward), the MRP provides technical support and policy recommendations to state, federal, regional and international decision-makers who develop management strategies from shore to 200 miles that affect Oregon fish and shellfish stocks, fisheries, and coastal communities. MRP is responsible for the monitoring of ocean salmon fisheries. All other salmon management is handled through the ODFW Columbia River Program in Clackamas. MRP headquarters is in Newport at the Hatfield Marine Science Center on Yaquina Bay. MRP has port offices along the coast at Astoria, Tillamook, Charleston, Central Point, Brookings, and at the marine mammal program in Corvallis. Staffing consists of about 60 permanent and more than 70 seasonal or temporary positions. The annual program budget is approximately $5 million: about 50 percent comes from federal sources and the remainder from state general fund (approximately $800,000) and “other” state funds from license fees and commercial fish fund ($2.3 million). The program’s work focuses on three major categories: • marine resource policy, management and regulation • fisheries monitoring and data collection • research on marine fisheries, ocean species and habitats 1 Oregon’s Commercial Fishing Industry; Year 2004 Preliminary Review and Year 2005 Outlook, by Radtke, Davis, The Research Group, Corvallis, Ore., prepared for ODFW and OCZMA. Oregon’s Ocean Sport Fishing values from US Fish and Wildlife Service reports and Radke and Davis op cit June 2005. 3 MANAGEMENT AND POLICY Management Authority The Marine Resources Program is authorized by the State Legislature in statute and the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission through administrative rule, to administer the regulation, harvest and management of commercial and recreational fisheries and management of other marine species, such as marine mammals, in Oregon. Generally the MRP manages marine waters from the innermost margin of estuaries out to the ocean. ODFW watershed (regional) management is handled from the upstream estuary environment to inland freshwater outflows. MRP works in cooperation with the regional staff to coordinate this interface. U.S. ocean fisheries are managed at the federal level through the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). This federal law forms the framework around which the west coast states regulate fisheries in state and federal waters. The law established