Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Oregon Senate voted Tuesday to create three new marine reserves off the coast. The vote takes Oregon one step closer to a network of five marine reserves in state waters.

Senate Bill 1510 would ban fishing in three areas along Oregon's shoreline: Cape Falcon, north of Manzanita; Cascade Head, north of Lincoln City; and Cape Perpetua, between Florence and Newport.

Otter Rock is one of one of the first marine reserve sites to be closed to fishing off the Oregon coast. Courtesy: Ben Enticknap/Oceana

On Tuesday, the Senate voted 25-5 to pass the bill, sending it to the House  for approval.

Together with two existing marine reserves at Otter Rock, near Lincoln City; and Redfish Rocks near Port Orford, the bill would create a network of five no-fishing marine reserves on the Oregon coast.

The three new sites were selected by community advisory groups after a year of discussions. But they're still controversial.

Supporters say the reserves will protect the marine habitat and boost fish populations. But opponents say fishing restrictions will cause unnecessary damage to businesses and coastal communities.

Oregon Sen. Betsy Johnson of Scappoose says she voted for the bill even though some of her constituents oppose it. She says the alternative would have been a ballot measure that closed a lot more fishing grounds.

Johnson said, "I believe that this minimalist bill that really just starts the process is exactly the correct way to go about contemplating marine reserves for Oregon."

Commercial fishermen in Johnson's district testified against the bill.

Bernie Bjork represents 100 fishing businesses on the North Coast. He sat on the community advisory board for the Cape Falcon marine reserve. And he said the process of selecting the reserve area was unfair.

Bjork explained, "We were forced into a vote for some kind of marine reserve. There was never an option that we could vote no marine reserve. We fought that for 11 months. But we didn't have the power to do anything."

The bill directs the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to study  the marine environment for up to two years before closing any reserves to fishing.  

Find more on this and other environmental stories on Cassandra's blog Ecotrope.