Oregon's fish resources have long been of great importance to its inhabitants. For centuries, salmon provided much of the food for Indians, who gathered at traditional fishing grounds when the salmon were returning upstream from the ocean to spawn.
In 1998, Oregon ranked 7th among the states in the total amount of its commercial catch, at 230,125,000 lb (104,385,000 kg), valued at $50,341,000. The catch included salmon, especially chinook and silver; groundfish such as flounder, rockfish, and lingcod; shellfish such as shrimp and oysters; and albacore tuna. Salmon landings totaled 1.8 million lb (0.8 million kg), valued at $2.5 million; sablefish, 3.9 million lb (1.8 million kg), $4.6 million; dungeness crab, 7.4 million lb (3.3 million kg); and shrimp, 6.2 million lb (2.8 million kg). Newport, Astoria, and Coos Bay–Charleston were the leading commercial fishing ports in 1998, with landings of 117.6 million, 87.7 million, and 14.6 million lb (53.3 million, 39.8 million, and 6.6 million kg), respectively. Oregon's commercial fishing fleet consisted of 1,060 boats and vessels in 1997, and supplied the state's 63 fish processing and wholesale plants.
Sport fishing, primarily for salmon and trout, is a major recreational attraction. In 1998, the state issued 653,292 sport fishing licenses. An estimated 168,000 coastal residents, along with 13,000 inland Oregonians and 51,000 residents of other states, participated in 649,000 recreational marine fishing trips in 1998, catching some 1,712,000 fish (mainly rockfish).
Hatchery production of salmon and steelhead has taken on increased importance, as development has destroyed natural fishspawning areas.