ODFW
$50,000  Nearshore 

The ODFW Marine Program has invested two decades of work using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to conduct video surveys of the seafloor, directly addressing nearshore data needs for a wide range of conservation and resource management concerns. These data needs stem directly from the Nearshore Strategy, the marine implementation of Oregon’s Conservation Strategy. ODFW acquired its current ROV in 2000, and the ROV now faces the end of its serviceable life, threatening ODFW’s ability to continue critical studies, evaluate emerging threats to nearshore ecosystems, and help inform potential management actions with solid data. The failing ROV is already significantly impacting the quantity and quality of surveys we are able to conduct. The requested equipment funding, combined with other sources that have already been secured, would enable the Marine Program to purchase a new, highly capable ROV, enabling continuation of its high-priority fishery-independent video assessments of nearshore seafloor habitats, fish, and invertebrate communities. The beneficiaries of this project will include a wide range of stakeholders in the understanding, management, and conservation of nearshore ecosystems. In particular, studies assessing the resilience of kelp communities to three major recent nearshore ecological changes are all dependent on this important survey tool. These three interrelated changes are: an unprecedented explosion in the population of kelp-consuming purple sea urchins, the complete loss of the sunflower sea star (a dominant sea urchin predator), and a major climate perturbation that produced historically warm ocean temperatures. The Strategy Species that may benefit most, through data-informed guidance on potential future direct interventions, re-introductions, and restoration efforts, include bull kelp, sunflower sea stars, flat abalone, red abalone, red sea urchins, and many kelp-associated nearshore rockfishes.