Oregon Reviews Territorial Sea Plan to Address Emerging Ocean Issues
Oregon is undertaking a review of its Territorial Sea Plan, which manages the three-nautical-mile-wide ocean zone along the entire coast. The update aims to address outdated policies and incorporate new challenges such as climate change, ocean acidification, and the development…
Bend, OR, October 27, 2026 —
Oregon is reviewing its Territorial Sea Plan, the framework for managing the three-nautical-mile-wide ocean zone along the state’s entire coast. The update is intended to address policies described as outdated and account for challenges that include climate change, ocean acidification and renewable energy development.
The review also aims to strengthen protections for marine ecosystems and ensure fair compensation for use of the seafloor. Those goals place environmental safeguards and the terms of seafloor use among the issues the updated plan is meant to address.
The plan covers a coastal ocean area extending three nautical miles from shore. The summary of the review does not specify which existing policies are considered outdated, what changes are being proposed, or how compensation for seafloor use would be determined. It also does not identify a timeline for the review or when an updated plan might take effect.
Climate change and ocean acidification are cited as challenges the update is intended to incorporate, alongside the development of renewable energy. The summary does not detail particular projects, anticipated effects or policy measures related to those issues.
The review’s stated aims are to update the plan, respond to those emerging challenges, strengthen marine ecosystem protections and ensure fair compensation for seafloor use. Further details about the process, including who is conducting the review and how proposed revisions will be considered, were not provided.
Story summarized from the original created by Kristian Foden-Vencil on www.opb.org, see more information here.
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