Ecotrust Marine Consulting - Oregon
Territorial Sea Planning
Goal 19 of Oregon's Statewide Planning requires the state "to conserve marine resources and ecological functions for the purpose of providing long-term ecological, economic, and social value and benefits to future generations." Oregon is developing a comprehensive Territorial Sea Plan to guide uses of the nearshore marine environment, including the potential siting of renewable ocean energy projects. The territorial sea extends three miles from the coast.
To inform the plan, Ecotrust has collected information on the spatial extent of human uses that provide economic and sociocultural benefits. The resulting data set will inform siting decisions for energy projects that minimize impacts to the marine ecosystem and human uses.
Working with local fishing organizations such as the Southern Oregon Ocean Resources Coalition (SOORC), Fishermen Interested in Natural Energy (FINE), the Port Orford Ocean Resource Team (POORT), the Nearshore Action Team (NSAT), FISHCRED, and other fisherman associations, Ecotrust collected port-specific data on commercial, charter, and recreational fisheries across the coast of Oregon. Ecotrust staff interviewed 244 commercial fishermen, 63 charter operators/owners, and 237 recreational fishermen — representing over 50% of the gross revenue of each commercial fishery in Oregon and the entire ocean fishing charter fleet on the coast. For more detailed information on this project, please see our final report. If you would like to view the fishing ground maps developed during this project, please go to oregon.marinemap.org.
In January 2011, Oregon launched the Oregon MarineMap (oregon.marinemap.org) decision support tool, buildin on the work of Ecotrust and partners in Californias Marine Life Protection Act Initiative. Oregon MarineMap enables the online visualization and analysis of a wide range of coastal and marine data in ways that facilitate the ongoing renewable energy and nearshore resource planning processes in Oregon. The tool showcases information collected through Oregons Territorial Sea Planning process and will integrate modules on nearshore habitat and renewable energy. Oregon MarineMap will provide a simple, flexible, and powerful means of involving Oregon stakeholders and the public in a process of collaborative decision making. Learn more about MarineMap
