Fisheries

Ocean wind farms are essential to electrify California’s grid with 100% clean energy. But they’re a giant, costly experiment — no one knows how hundreds of towering turbines will transform the remote North Coast.

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced nearly $200 million in federal infrastructure grants to upgrade tunnels that carry streams beneath roads but can be deadly to salmon and other fish that get stuck trying to pass through.

Planned repair work on Winchester Dam near Roseburg has led to emergency salvage efforts for Pacific lamprey. It’s just the latest concern from environmentalists who are opposed to the dam on the North Umpqua River.

Oregon has extended rules restricting the state’s lucrative Dungeness crab fishery in order to protect humpback whales from becoming entangled in ropes attached to crab traps, the state’s fish and wildlife department has announced.

For the second time in three years, the North Umpqua River and its tributaries will be closed to all fishing for several months.

A federal regulatory group voted Thursday to officially close king salmon fishing season along much of the West Coast after near-record low numbers of the fish, also known as Chinook, returned to California’s rivers last year.

The Pacific Marine Fisheries Council is considering three plans for the summer ocean salmon season, none of which would allow Chinook fishing until September for much of Oregon coast.

The economic ripple effects of Russia’s war against Ukraine have been felt for more than a year. This includes Oregon’s seafood industry.

The final two stretches of Oregon’s coast will open for commercial Dungeness crab fishing this week. But there may be some restrictions.

Dungeness crab is the most valuable single-species fishery commodity in Oregon. In the 2021-2022 season, fisherfolk harvested more than 17 million pounds of crab, bringing in an eye-popping $91.5 million.

Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab season opens Jan. 15 for much of the coast after a weekslong delay.

The federal Bureau of Reclamation is considering reducing the amount of water sent down the Klamath River by up to 40% over the coming winter months. A draft proposal released this month outlined the cuts ahead of another possible drought year.