PORT ORFORD – There will be no fishing allowed in a 2.6 mile area around Redfish Rocks near Port Orford effective Sunday when that area and one at Otter Rock, just north of Newport, officially become Oregon’s first marine reserve areas.

“It’s basically no fishing, no crabbing, no urchin diving, all that is closed. You can still kayak, or surf, or travel your boat through that as long as you don’t have your gear in the water,” Kelly Sparks, Redfish Rocks community team coordinator, said Tuesday.

“If you want to remove anything from there, it’s not going to be possible anymore,” she said. 

She said the there is also a marine protected area connected to the area that goes from the shoreline to 2.6 miles out, encompassing the five rocks at Red Fish Rocks.

Oregon’s two first marine reserves sites mark the culmination of more than a decade of strong local effort by communities, state government, and commercial fishermen to create protections for Oregon’s ocean. 

Redfish Rocks and Otter Rock earned strong support from commercial fishermen who promoted the concept of habitat protection through a marine reserve system. 

“We are proud of Port Orford’s leadership and support of our marine reserves,” Mayor Jim Auborn said.

Auborn is a charter member of the Redfish Rocks Community Team, a stewardship group. 

“The Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve and Marine Protected Area give us an opportunity to learn more about our ocean resources and sustainability. Ultimately, these reserves will act as ecological savings accounts to help our commercial and recreational fisheries and provide greater benefits for our ocean and our community for generations to come,” Auburn said.

Marine reserves are ecologically important areas that are protected from fishing and disturbance to allow plants and animals to flourish, and provide opportunities for ecological research. OSU graduate student Tom Calvanese has been working with local fishermen to track the movements of rockfish living in the reserve using acoustic telemetry.

Port Orford has provided support for implementing the Redfish Rocks designation through a local community team process. A diverse group of stakeholders, the Redfish Rocks Community Team has been assisting the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) in developing a management plan for the site.

ODFW will enforce the restrictions at the marine reserve.

“The Port Orford Ocean Resource Team has focused our work on the triple bottom line approach,” Leesa Cobb, ED of the Port Orford Ocean Resource Team said. “This marine reserve is one piece of a sustainable fishing program, and this community has a high level of interest in the reserve since more than half of the total nearshore fishing permits are owned and fished out of Port Orford.”

Sparks said the group was formed in 2008 and immediately began working toward the marine reserve.

“There was a lot of work involved,” Sparks said. “I just came into this job at the end of October. They’ve been busy for a long time.”

She said there will be no dedication ceremony to begin the marine reserve. "It just goes into effect.

“It’s an exciting project. It’s exciting for everyone who has been working full time on it,” Sparks said.

Besides Redfish Rocks and Otter Rock, three other sites have been recommended for designation – Cape Falcon, Cape Head and Cape Perpetua. A fourth site, Cape Arago, is also being considered. 

The total area of state recommended marine reserves comprise a little more than 3 percent of Oregon’s Territorial Sea.

The effort to establish marine reserves began in 2000 during Gov. Kitzhaber’s first administration and continued under Gov. Kulongoski’s administration. 

The governors’ advisory group on oceans, the Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC), has helped to lead Oregon’s marine reserve process along with ODFW.