Updates from the ODFW Marine Reserves Program

Fall hook-and-line surveys are starting this week, with hook-and-line/longline research at Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve. We will head to Cape Falcon Marine Reserve in early September.

Remotely Operated Vehicle research will be conducted at Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve late this week (weather and water visibility pending).

In the fall, underwater visibility begins to improve and SCUBA surveys are able to start back up again. This week, scientific divers will be starting work at Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve.

We downloaded data from an oceanographic sensor at Cascade Head Marine Reserve. The sensor is used to track oceanographic conditions including temperature, salinity, and oxygen levels every hour of the day. Information from these instruments is helping us understand nearshore oceanographic conditions such as if and when hypoxic (low oxygen) conditions occur.

We conducted two sea star surveys in rocky intertidal areas at Otter Rock and Cascade Head.

Updates from Our Collaborators

We conducted a check-up dive on the Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) at Otter Rock Marine Reserve. All six are still in place and are attracting organisms.

We continued collecting samples from SMURFs set out at Otter Rock as part of juvenile fish recruitment surveys, led by Oregon State University and in collaboration with the Oregon Coast Aquarium. This year’s first juvenille tiger rockfish was spotted about two weeks ago in a SMURF (photo above). SMURF surveys will be continuing through the fall.