Whale entanglement in fishing gear is a serious threat that can cause drowning, injury and interfere with feeding. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2022 West Coast Whale Entanglement Summary, 30 whales were confirmed entangled off Washington, Oregon and California. Until recently, little was known about how often whales and crab gear overlapped in Oregon waters, making it difficult to reduce risk.
This nationally recognized partnership shows how science and community collaboration can solve shared problems and deliver lasting public benefit.
That changed through a collaborative effort led by Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute and Oregon Sea Grant Extension. The Oregon whale entanglement project, directed by Leigh Torres, researcher in Oregon State’s Marine Mammal Institute and Oregon Sea Grant Extension marine mammals specialist, brought together scientists, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, commercial fishers and environmental organizations to understand when and where whales are most at risk.
The project was recognized in August as a regional winner of the 2025 W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Award and recently earned the 2025 C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award, the nation’s highest honor for community-engaged scholarship presented by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.
The effort began when Oregon’s largest commercial fishery saw rising reports of whale entanglements. Since 2016, Oregon State scientists have worked with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, commercial fishers and nonprofit partners to identify high-risk areas and develop strategies to prevent entanglements.
Oregon Sea Grant convened the Oregon Whale Entanglement Working Group from 2017 to 2019, bringing together fishermen, scientists, state regulators and nonprofits to develop voluntary best practices and build trust. These collaborations revealed a major data gap about whale distribution that limited effective management.
To fill that gap, the team conducted extensive aerial and ship-based surveys from 2019 to 2021, covering 17,400 miles of Oregon waters. They later expanded their analysis to more than 42,000 miles of survey data collected over 376 days, tracking more than 3,500 whales.
By combining whale sightings with ocean and climate data from 2011 to 2020, the researchers created monthly maps predicting where humpback, fin and blue whales were most likely to occur and compared them with Dungeness crab fishing locations to pinpoint high-risk areas.
The findings showed risk peaks in nearshore waters in April, when migrating whales overlap with the end of the crab fishing season. The results directly informed Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife regulations adopted in 2020 to reduce whale entanglements while supporting the fishery’s economic health.
In 2022, Oregon Sea Grant organized a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration–requested workshop to explore gear marking and modification strategies to reduce whale entanglements in groundfish pot fisheries. More than 50 participants, including 12 commercial fishers, contributed ideas that informed the agency’s feasibility study and supported the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s 2024 adoption of new gear marking and entanglement risk reduction measures.
The Oregon whale entanglement project team includes:
- Leigh Torres, researcher, Marine Mammal Institute; Oregon Sea Grant Extension marine mammals specialist
- Amanda Gladics, associate professor of practice, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences; Oregon Sea Grant; OSU Extension Service
- Solène Derville, post-doctoral researcher, Marine Mammal Institute; Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences
- Lindsay Wickman, post-doctoral researcher, Marine Mammal Institute; Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences
- Craig Hayslip, faculty research assistant, Marine Mammal Institute; Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences
- Scott Baker, professor, Marine Mammal Institute; Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences
- Troy Buell, state fishery management program leader, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Kelly Corbett, shellfish program leader, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Brittany Harrington, marine life entanglement project leader, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Members of the Oregon Entanglement Advisory Committee
By identifying times and areas where whales are most likely to get entangled, fishermen can avoid these hotspots, leading to fewer incidents of gear loss or damage caused by entangled whales. Fishermen can adjust their practices to minimize harm to marine life, supporting more sustainable and responsible fishing methods.
Overall, the project helped create a safer and more sustainable environment for both whales and fishermen, ensuring the long-term viability of Oregon’s coastal ecosystems and fishing industry. This nationally recognized partnership shows how science and community collaboration can solve shared problems and deliver lasting public benefit.
