The Clean Vessel Act grant program funds the purchase and installation of pumpout and portable-toilet dump stations at boating facilities throughout Oregon, and marina staff are responsible for keeping these units functional for boaters. While visiting sites that received financial support for this equipment, Oregon Sea Grant determined that marina employees had trouble performing regular maintenance. Some facility staff indicated that they had not received any formal training, were unfamiliar with the parts, or were unaware of training resources.

Oregon Sea Grant staff designed and produced a series of instructional videos to support marina and boating facility employees responsible for maintaining pumpout and portable-toilet dump stations. The videos, which were published online via Oregon Sea Grant's Youtube channel, describe the components of the equipment, show how to maintain the units, and outline reporting requirements when issues arise. The videos were shared with marina staff at the end of 2016 and have been viewed nearly 700 times. Oregon Sea Grant staff interviewed 24 individuals; 100 percent had watched the videos and found that they included the appropriate information to help them perform maintenance tasks. The Indiana Clean Vessel Act program has adopted the videos, and the videos were featured in Oregon Sea Grant’s Winter 2017 newsletter and Marina Dock Age Magazine’s December 2017 issue.

Threat of a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake and accompanying tsunami has motivated Oregon coastal communities to improve hazard mitigation planning. An Oregon Sea Grant-supported team engaged three small coastal communities to explore the potential for changes to current infrastructure and facilities that could help reduce human harm and property damage resulting from future natural hazards. This project encouraged community members to consider future resource investments that integrate immediate needs with likely tsunami impacts.

Together with community leaders, researchers identified possibilities and barriers for “pre-emptive” decisions, or anticipatory planning. This approach may yield practical guidance to incorporating anticipatory planning into routine, comprehensive local decision-making for small, resource-strapped communities. The research team showed that communities prioritize immediate quality of life over investing scarce resources on future events. Communities need resource investments that simultaneously address today’s needs and mitigate against future harms, and that include disaster preparedness in collaborative planning projects. Local residents and emergency responders were interested in implementing these best practices in under-resourced communities. Survey results found that visitors and residents alike were willing to pay for resilience improvements within communities they reside in or visit.

Oregon Sea Grant led dock tours that resulted in approximately 600 consumers learning how to buy seafood directly from vessels, increasing fishermen’s overall sales. During each tour, Oregon Sea Grant Extension agents discussed regulations, sustainability, fishing practices and what to look for when buying seafood.

"Shop on the Dock" provided economic benefits to marine businesses through education and public outreach, and participants and fisherman alike were strongly supportive of the program. In 2016, roughly 60 percent of participants bought fish while on the tour, spending anywhere from $20 to more than $100. Participating businesses reported approximately $10,000 in product sales through the Shop on the Dock program.