FLORENCE (AP) — Gov. Ted Kulongoski has proposed using the remaining $2.8 million the state received in a settlement from the New Carissa shipwreck for research projects on seafloor mapping, wave energy and marine reserves.

The money could go to marine reserve pilot projects at Otter Rock north of Newport and Redfish Rocks south of Port Orford. The governor’s also recommending further study at four areas located in Oregon’s state-owned waters, which stretch from the beach to three miles into the Pacific Ocean.

Michael Carrier, the governor’s natural resources adviser, said he’s optimistic the Legislature will approve the governor’s proposal for the projects despite a $2 billion deficit in the state’s budget for the biennium beginning July 1.

It helps that funding for the projects would come from the New Carissa settlement, Carrier said. Money would not only be spent on marine reserves but other research in the state as well.

“Scientists and policy makers in coastal communities have said we really need better information about the content of the ocean floor in order to plan for its uses,” Carrier said.

The New Carissa ran aground on Feb. 4, 1999, off Horsfall Beach. The Florida-based company that owned the ship agreed to a roughly $22 million settlement with the state in 2006. This past spring and summer, the state paid Titan Salvage to remove the remains of the shipwreck with the other funds from the settlement.

Kulongoski had planned to fund marine reserve projects but the contentious process resulted in far fewer proposals than the governor envisioned.

Many in the Oregon Coast’s fishing fleet feared the reserves could cut down on the industry’s catch. In response to widespread criticism about the potential economic harm of a marine reserve network, Kulongoski promised no more than 10 reserves. The Ocean Pacific Advisory Council recommended only two pilot project reserves.