Tag Archives: Port Orford
How valuable, and volatile, crabbing can be along the Oregon Coast
On a calm morning last May, the three-person crew of the FV Misty dropped into the Pacific Ocean off of Port Orford, in Southern Oregon, to catch a small piece of a large fortune. It’s not easy money though, by any stretch. A day of pulling in hundreds of crab pots is relentless and fast-paced work, requiring razor-sharp choreography from a seasoned crew. Boat captain Aaron Ashdown can remember joining the family business when Dungeness crab was worth $2.50 per pound in starting price. “My dad told me, because a crab is about maybe two pounds, ‘There’s just little $5 bills all over the bottom of the ocean and all we got to do is go out there and pick them up.’” By the 2022 season, that value had risen to a record $5 starting price, unprecedented for Oregon. Interesting video, photos, >click to read< 11:06
Port Orford has $2.3-million for dock cranes upgrades project
Port Orford’s port is looking for a new dock crane or two, and it’s planning to spend more than $2,000,000 for upgrades. The Port says its crane replacement project involves two 50-ton cranes used to launch vessels going to sea and retrieve them when they return. The project also includes new product handling hoists and other seafood product handling equipment. The Port says it, “lands an average $5,000,000 in ex-vessel value seafood each year, contributing an average of $7,000,000 to Oregon’s economy, and employing approximately 30% of the local workforce in commercial fishing, processing, and related jobs.” >click to read< 08:05
‘There Aren’t A Lot Of Other Options’: Port Orford’s Season Of Crab And Crisis
Oregon’s 2018 toxic algae troubles didn’t begin with the summer bloom tainting Salem’s water supply. The opening salvo actually came from the wintry Pacific, where high levels of domoic acid — a neurotoxin byproduct of marine algae blooms — disrupted seafood production along Oregon’s South Coast. For Port Orford in particular, where the fishing industry sustains about one-third of the local economy, this meant a season of loss instead of bounty. By the numbers, Port Orford really can’t afford more economic distress. >click to read<10:58
With The Timber Economy Gone, Port Orford Looks To The Sea
Recent decades have not been kind to rural Oregon. As natural resources come under increased pressure — and the economy becomes more globalized — small, resource-based communities have been hit hard. Port Orford, on Oregon’s south coast, is no exception. But now, some people in Port Orford are trying innovative approaches to adapting traditional livelihoods to the new reality so their town can survive – and even thrive – in the 21st Century. click here to read the story 11:30
ALL EYES ON PORT ORFORD : Fishermen continue cleanup, contemplate impact of last weekend’s storm on crab season
The damage done by last Saturday’s storm that hammered the Port of Port Orford could have far-reaching implications. Waves slammed into the cement dock at the Port of Port Orford last Saturday as local fishermen raced to keep a disaster from turning into a financial catastrophe. Brett Webb, a port commissioner and a commercial crab fisherman, knew if boats started getting tossed off of the dock they could be looking at a long-term closure. Read the rest here 19:47
The Irish Rose of Port Orford
Port Orford, on the southern Oregon coast, is always an interesting visit with their dryland harbour safely above the the southerly winds that can lash the unprotected port. These winds can be so strong that even the boats on land will be lashed down. “Capricorn” Mike Ashdown has fished many years out of the port and his boat, the Irish Rose, even longer. See the rest of the photo’s @ Westcoast Fisherman 17:50
