The state of Oregon is many things to various people all over. Though, to a group of individuals who reside on the coast and dedicate their lives to change, it is known as a pioneer in the growing industry of sustainable fishing: an industry created to save fish and human interest alike in an effort to clean up a historically old and often waste laden profession.

There are so many fish in the sea it is hard to imagine the ocean bare. However, at the current rate at which humans fish, this could soon be a reality. Already scores of species of fish are endangered and over-fished to exhaustion as the demand for fish worldwide is overwhelming. Currently, seafood is expensive and those prices will only go up as certain species continue to fall off the radar. Due to this issue becoming rapidly more severe it has only recently evolved into one of visible importance and, in September, I was lucky enough to meet with one of the groups taking action in Port Orford, Oregon.

The meeting took place in the offices of the Port Orford Ocean Resource Team and I got to talk to both Aaron Longton, a local fisherman who practices sustainable fishing and heads the board, and Tyson Rasor, the staff member in charge of the new marine reserve established off Orford’s coast. Aaron is one of the locals who have chosen to stop discarding extra fish and practicing bycatch. Every fisherman is obligated to buy permits which allow him to fish a certain amount of a given species and when a fisherman goes over that limit he can get heavily fined. To avoid this, many fisherman dump extras, dead or alive, back into the water. This displaces fish from their habitats as well as kills many extra fish which would otherwise help keep the population stable. Aaron avoids this by using nets which are specifically designed to keep certain species in and others out to avoid bycatch. These newer nets are a recent development and Newport, Oregon is at the forefront of production and design. The trick is to design a net which has passageways that only some species can navigate. While ultimately buying these newer nets and taking extensive care to avoid bycatch and dumping costs Aaron more, he is dedicated to maintaining a stable fishing environment. Tyson has an equally important job of monitoring and protecting the species in the Port Orford area. Recently, he won a major victory and had a large marine reserve established off the coast inside which no fishing is allowed. The idea is to create a haven for many species specifically some species of rockfish, a fish nearing endangerment. This will hopefully allow over-fished species a place to stabilize their population.

Additionally, Tom Calvanese tracks a series of tagged fish inside the reserve to monitor their movement and determine the effectiveness of the designated zone. He tagged a variety of rockfish which dwell in the reserve and can put together charts of their movement in relation to a series of underwater beacons.

These various projects put together makes Port Orford a much more stable place to fish. By guaranteeing the safety of their local fish populations, these men have protected their areas interests for years to come. In a career as dangerous as fishing, people need to be thankful for the even greater risks these men take in putting their careers on the line for future generations.