Coastal Monitoring Program

Comprehensive fish population (adults and juveniles at random and fixed sites) and habitat monitoring of Oregon Coast salmonids was conducted as part of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds.

ODFWs Coastal Monitoring Program has been highly successful at implementing its projects and fulfilling its objectives. The ODFW program is integrated with the efforts of other agencies and is based on a peer-reviewed sampling design and field protocols. In ODFWs Coastal Monitoring Program, biological and physical sampling is conducted to determine whether salmon habitats and populations respond as expected to conservation and restoration efforts. This program provides the baseline data to guide restoration efforts by OWEB, Watershed Councils, and other state and federal agencies. Results and analysis from this Program provided critical support for Oregons Coastal Coho Assessment and the Oregon Coast TRT Workgroups development of ESU Population Structure and Biological Recovery Criteria. Implementation of this project establishes Oregon as the regional leader in monitoring efforts, providing ongoing support for development of Species Recovery Plans with measurable, quantiative, goals. This Program provides key population and habitat benchmarks which contribute to the evaluation of effectiveness of recovery efforts. While it is too early to tell whether salmon habitats are responding to conservation and restoration efforts initiated under the Oregon Plan, data from ODFWs monitoring program make it clear that coho salmon populations throughout the Oregon coast are responding positively to favorable ocean conditions, reductions in hatchery impacts, and carefully controled harvest in selective fisheries.