Forage Fish in Oregon Win Significant Protections | Oceana

Victory | September 2, 2016

Forage Fish in Oregon Win Significant Protections

After campaigning by Oceana and its allies, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted a forage fish management plan for hundreds of small, schooling fish in state waters (0-3 miles from shore). This management plan mirrors action taken in 2015 by the Pacific Fishery Management Council to protect forage fish from new commercial development and builds on the National Marine Fisheries Service’s regulations to protect forage fish in federal waters off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California (from 3-200 nautical miles). Forage fish are critical to healthy marine food webs and are threatened by overfishing due to increasing demand for fishmeal. These new measures will help ensure no new commercial fisheries for these small fish will be developed without careful consideration and science-based management.