Oregon Entanglement Advisory Committee (OEAC)

*To subscribe to email updates about OEAC, including meeting notices, email Brittany.L.Harrington@odfw.oregon.gov.

The Oregon Entanglement Advisory Committee (OEAC) serves as an advisory body to ODFW on efforts to reduce the risk of marine life entanglements in fixed gear, and primarily on implementation of ODFW's conservation plan that is currently in development for addressing interactions with gear from the ocean commercial crab fishery. The OEAC is intended to provide ODFW with information and broad perspectives from a range of stakeholders on strategies to support the co-occurrence of economically viable fixed gear fisheries and thriving marine life populations off Oregon.

• Oregon Entanglement Advisory Committee Charter (last updated June 2022)

OEAC members

ODFW strives to ensure that OEAC membership is representative of all stakeholder groups and that processes are in place to facilitate an orderly transition of members and maintain continuity over time. ODFW aims to maintain a committee size of 15 to 20 members, representing the commercial crab industry (including different roles, ports, business plans, etc.), recreational crab industry, conservation organizations, researchers, and other subject matter experts (e.g., enforcement, gear, disentanglement, citizen science). When selecting members, priority is given to applicants representing Oregon-based industries, businesses, or organizations.

In addition to the OEAC members, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) staff have a standing invitation to be present as policy advisors at all OEAC meetings. As the incidental take permitting authority, NMFS does not contribute to recommendations made by the group but provides policy expertise and clarity to inform group discussions.

Current OEAC member list

Updated 12/2/2024

Meeting schedule

New Member Orientation Materials

• NMFS 2023 West Coast Whale Entanglement Summary (pdf)
• NMFS National Report on Large Whale Entanglements Confirmed in the United States in 2022 (pdf)
• Oregon Aug 2021 Conservation Plan DRAFT (pdf)
• Habitat Conservation Planning and Incidental Take Permit processing handbook
• Oregon Commercial Dungeness Crab Best Fishing Practices Directive to Minimize Marine Life Entanglement Risk (pdf)
• California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (CCIEA) - The ecosystem context for reducing West Coast whale entanglements
• Seasonal, Annual, and Decadal Distribution of Three Rorqual Whale Species Relative to Dynamic Ocean Conditions Off Oregon (Derville et al., 2022)
• Exposure of whales to entanglement risk in Dungeness crab fishing gear in Oregon, USA, reveals distinctive spatio-temporal and climatic patterns (Derville et al., 2023)