Oregon Ocean Cluster April 2026
Latest news from the Oregon Ocean Cluster
Oregon's Legislative Short Session
The Oregon Legislature has concluded its 2026 short session in Salem. These policies will have long-term impacts on the Oregon Ocean Cluster (OOC) and the health of our maritime industries. Below is a summary of the 2026 session through the lens of the Blue Economy.
SB 1525: Blue Economy Task Force
In a major win for Oregon’s blue economy, lawmakers approved Senate Bill 1525, establishing a Blue Economy Task Force to better understand and grow Oregon’s ocean-based industries.
This task force will bridge the gap between researchers, industry leaders, and policymakers. For the OOC, this is a vital platform to ensure that marine technology, sustainable aquaculture, and seafood innovation are recognized as primary drivers of Oregon’s future GDP. We look forward to representing the cluster’s interests as this roadmap takes shape. By bringing diverse sectors to the table, this task force has the potential to identify new opportunities that strengthen local economies while protecting the coast’s natural resources.
HB 4086: Advancing 100% Fish and Industrial Symbiosis
House Bill 4086 was a cornerstone of our mission to maximize the value of Oregon’s seafood landings. By adopting 100% Fish utilization, we aim to transform processing "waste" into high-value products like marine collagen, fertilizers, and nutraceuticals.
Why it matters:
Economic Resilience: Keeps more value-added revenue within our coastal ports.
Sustainability: Reduces the environmental footprint of seafood processing.
Global Leadership: Positions Oregon as a hub for maritime industrial symbiosis.
Early versions of the bill included $640,000 in funding for the “100% Fish” program coordinated by OCVA and the Oregon Ocean Cluster. Unfortunately, as lawmakers worked to reduce spending late in the session, this funding was removed from the final legislation.
Although the outcome was disappointing, we remain committed to advancing this work with partners across the seafood and research sectors. Fully utilizing Oregon’s seafood resources represents a powerful opportunity to strengthen coastal resilience and create new economic pathways. Legislative Ways and Means leaders who make the budgets have encouraged us to bring back the legislation next session, hoping that resources might be available.
What Comes Next
One of the most encouraging takeaways from 2026 was the unified front presented by coastal interests. Between the OOC’s industry focus and OCVA’s organizational resources, the "Coastal Voice" was louder than ever in Salem.
What’s Next for the OOC? The session may be over, but the work of building a Blue Economy is year-round. Our priorities for the coming months include:
Refining the 100% Fish Strategy: Continuing our research and partnership building to ensure the initiative returns to the 2027 session with even stronger momentum.
Task Force Engagement: Ensuring the Blue Economy Task Force prioritizes commercial viability and maritime innovation.
Workforce Development: Collaborating with coastal community colleges to align training with the needs of a modern ocean economy.
Winter Waters Blue Line Event in Newport
The Winter Waters culinary series was in full swing this February, including the debut “Blue Line” event: a self-guided tour around Newport’s working waterfronts, and the powerful connection between science and seafood that defines Oregon’s coast. Over 192 people signed up for the tour, which covered multiple stops that highlighted Newport's mariculture and science industries.
Highlights of the day:
At the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Blue Line activities unfolded in the classroom where interactive stations spotlighted various ocean related conservation efforts.
At Hatfield Marine Science Center guests got to join oyster research tours to get a behind-the-scenes look at cutting-edge mariculture and oyster breeding programs.
At the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center, visitors explored Oregon’s Beautiful & Wild Fisheries exhibit, crab films, boatbuilding displays, and the Creatures of the Sea art collection.
Guided by Oregon Sea Grant’s Angee Doerr and Newport Fishermen’s Wives’ Taunette Dixon, attendees joined timed dock walks to hear firsthand what life on the water really looks like.
With sponsorship support from Englund Marine, participants learned about vessel gear, safety realities, and the daily rhythms of commercial fishing.
All day long, the Central Coast Food Web activated the Yaquina Lab campus with immersive programming that connected the dock to the pantry.
Investing in Our Fleet: Updates from Port Orford
Good news for the fleet! With support from the Oregon Coast Visitors Association and the Oregon Ocean Cluster, the Port of Port Orford has ordered a new 5-ton ice machine to help meet the needs of the local fishing fleet. The unit is expected to arrive in time to support vessels preparing for the 2026 halibut openers.
Reliable access to ice is a critical piece of fishing infrastructure, helping vessels maintain catch quality and operate efficiently during peak seasons. While the new unit is not a permanent solution, it will help address immediate demand as partners continue working toward a longer-term investment in ice production capacity at the port.
The ice machine is just one piece of the Port’s broader Working Waterfront Revitalization Initiative, which continues to advance several key infrastructure projects. Recent milestones include stakeholder interviews to inform the Port’s economic and fiscal analysis, an initial engineering site visit for the Dock Road stabilization project, and the seawater delivery system project moving out to bid to support live seafood holding and other working waterfront operations.
Strengthening infrastructure like this also supports broader efforts to keep more Oregon-caught seafood landed, handled, and sold locally—benefiting coastal fishermen, processors, and communities.
Central Coast Food Web 2025 Impact Report
The Central Coast Food Web (CCFW) recently released its 2025 Impact Report, highlighting a year of growth and partnership in strengthening the local food ecosystem. As a primary partner of the Oregon Ocean Cluster (OOC), CCFW has become a vital hub for local producers through its Yaquina Lab facility.
Key highlights:
Infrastructure for Growth: CCFW celebrated the opening of a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen and the installation of a large outdoor freezer, providing essential processing and cold storage for small-scale fishers and farmers.
Innovative Partnerships: The facility now houses the Oo-Nee Sea Ranch urchin and kelp aquaculture system and the Oregon Coast Visitor’s Association (OCVA) seaweed tank farm, fostering new models for sustainable ocean products.
Community Nourishment: In a major success story, CCFW partnered with the ODFW, Food Share of Lincoln County, and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians to process surplus hatchery salmon into over 10,000 servings of high-quality protein for local families.
Education & Training: Working closely with the OOC, CCFW supported seafood butchery and culinary programs in local high schools and provided professional certifications, such as forklift licensing, to help small food business owners thrive.
Farm + Fish Market: Their year-round online market now connects 15 local producers directly to consumers, ensuring that local food dollars stay within the community even outside of traditional farmers market seasons.
Through these efforts, CCFW continues to bridge the gap between local resources and local people, building a more resilient and equitable food system for the Oregon Coast
International Blue Economy News
Global updates on blue technology accelerators, marine inventions, grant funding, and breakthrough research.
News [Curated by Seaking Blue]
Marine Biologics announced the development of SeaTex: a high-performance seaweed powder designed for protein stabilization.
LA–based electric marine company Arc has raised $50 million in a Series C round to scale production of its electric propulsion systems and expand from recreational boats into commercial and defense vessels amid growing demand for cleaner, lower-maintenance alternatives to diesel-powered maritime transport.
A new global study highlighted in this LinkedIn blog post identifies the most urgent research priorities for advancing blue carbon science, emphasizing the need to close data gaps, strengthen measurement and monitoring, and center equity and community engagement to effectively scale conservation and restoration of coastal carbon ecosystems. The full study can be found here.
Clean Earth Rovers is targeting deployment at the Port of Los Angeles with its small, autonomous “Roomba-like” marine robots designed to collect floating trash and debris in hard-to-reach harbor areas, offering a scalable, lower-cost solution to urban water pollution and port cleanup challenges.
Opportunities
OceanHub Africa has opened applications for the 7th cohort of their accelerator program, which will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Applications close April 17th.
Upwell LATAM has opened applications for their milestone-driven commercialization program that aims to pair LATAM ocean startups with industry partners for real-world deployment. Their applications are due May 15th.
Canada’s first blue economy accelerator Blue Action Canada has opened applications for their 2026 cohort.
Apply to Katapult’s Ocean Accelerator program that is designed to guide founders through complex entrepreneurial issues, add structure, and help raise a startup’s next round.
Fair Carbon has launched a Blue Carbon Academy that aims to help with the fine-tuning of the design of a Blue Carbon project.
Join the Blue Growth Community to get access to opportunities, expertise, and connections as an innovator.
What is the Oregon Ocean Cluster?
Oregon’s seafood often goes directly from harvest to plane, bypassing Oregon communities. Keeping more local seafood local enhances the environment, economic development, public health, and human rights.
The Oregon Ocean Cluster is working to shift this dynamic and make local seafood easier to find and buy through development of wholesale buyers clubs, cooperative marketing, and shared infrastructure.
Learn more about our core initiatives, including developing workforce development and youth training on our website.
