South Oregon Coast Fishing Ports, April 10

Report from the Oregon Employment Dept. Despite the smaller chunk of Oregon’s overall landing value, revenue earned in these smaller ports in 2014 has a relatively large economic impact in these small coastal communities. Securing funding for dredging for these ports has been a priority for local community leaders and elected leaders representing constituents in these communities. Bandon had $77,739 in commercial landings, just 0.5 percent of the statewide total. Bandon’s largest landing value was black rockfish, at $26,457. Chinook salmon was a close second, at $24,243. Lingcod was third in commercial landing value, at $10,623. Port Orford had $3,379,984 in commercial landing value in 2014, or 2.2 percent of the statewide total. Dungeness crab was the most valuable fishery in 2014, with $1,460,223, or 43 percent of Port Orford’s commercial landing value. Both sablefish and Chinook salmon landings were valued over $500,000 in 2014, representing 6.2 percent and 2.8 percent of the statewide total, respectively. Black rockfish, while just $251,364 in landing value, accounted for 42.5 percent of the Oregon total. Gold Beach landings totaled $274,704, or just 0.2 percent of the statewide total. Black rockfish landings comprised about 40 percent of the area’s total landings, and 18 percent of the statewide black rockfish total. Other fisheries with commercial landing value were crab, greenling, other rockfish, and tuna. Red sea urchin landing value accounted for about 10 percent of the total for the port. Brookings’ commercial landing value was $9,796,723, representing 6.3 percent of the state’s total. Dungeness crab is the most valuable fishery in the Port of Brookings Harbor, with $2.7 million commercially caught in 2014. Pink shrimp landings totaled $2,158,185, or about one-fifth of Brookings’ total landing value. Just over 7 percent of the state’s total Chinook salmon landing value came from the Port of Brookings, accounting for about 14 percent of the port’s total landing value. Other fisheries included black cod, sablefish, petrale and dover sole, tuna and long nose skate. The bounty that the sea provides in the Oregon fisheries is an economic engine the drives many businesses and communities all along the coast. Not just for those working on fishing boats, but also for processing plants, transportation to move seafood products, and boat building and repair that are all ancillary recipients for this natural resource industry.