Beginning in the mid-1800s, new technologies allowed scientists, sailors, and amateur naturalists better access to the ocean’s depths. Innovations in steam-powered navigation, improved sampling devices, and the invention of submarine telegraph cables made knowledge about the sea’s inhabitants not only more accessible, but also more relevant. With rapt attention, Oregonians relied on their local newspapers to track the growing field of oceanography and report on its exciting discoveries.

In present day, Oregon’s newspapers often investigate the health of our region’s marine life, which face significant environmental challenges including an influx of toxic wastes, warming waters, industrial development, and noise pollution.

This exhibit draws on Historic Oregon Newspapers, a key-word searchable digitized database hosted by the University of Oregon Libraries. The vast collection includes 1,500,000 pages that range in date from 1846 to 2021. Join us as we explore Oregon’s marine life through the lenses of print and art.

Black Rockfish

(Sebastes melanops)

In Oregon’s waters, commercial and recreational fishers catch a few dozen varieties of rockfish. One type is the black rockfish, which feeds on krill, squid, and other fish. Black rockfish grow to about 25 inches in length and swim in schools of their kind. As a common species in the North Pacific, there is no concern for their conservation status.

Pink Shrimp

(Pandalus jordani)

Known commercially as salad or cocktail shrimp, these little crustaceans prefer to live along muddy or sandy bottoms ranging between 250 and 750 feet deep. In 2020, Oregon’s pink shrimp fishery harvested a whopping 43.1 million pounds of shrimp, a catch estimated to be worth over $22 million. Most trawl nets catch pink shrimp before their first birthday, but a rare few can live to be three, four, or even five years of age.

Pacific Lamprey

(Lampetra tridentata)

Lampreys are an eel-like fish that shock and awe with their round mouth and sharp teeth. Like salmon, they are anadromous, meaning they swim between fresh water and the ocean during their lifecycle. Lampreys have been an important food source for Native Peoples of the Pacific Northwest. In recent decades, the number of lampreys has seriously declined, in part due to dams blocking access to spawning locations.

Pacific Footballfish

(Himantolophus sagamius)

There are hundreds of species of anglerfish found around the global ocean, but the Pacific footballfish is unique to the dark depths of the Pacific. With its phosphorescent bulb, it lures in its victims before snatching them up with its sharp teeth. Female footballfish are typically the size of a football while the males are significantly smaller. Male footballfish function as “sexual parasites” as they latch onto the females and exchange his sperm for her nutrients.

Newspaper Images

(Left)

East Oregonian, June 17, 2017
Historic Oregon Newspapers

(Above)

The Sunday Oregonian, August 24, 1913
Historic Oregon Newspapers

Hayley Brazier