Salmon Fishing | Selective fishing season takes a hit

The expansion of selective sport salmon fishing in parts of Puget Sound this season — allowing anglers to keep adipose fin-clipped, hatchery-raised chinook — will be just a small slice of what was actually proposed back in February.

Salmon fishing seasons were finalized Friday at the Pacific Fishery Management Council meetings in Sea-Tac, but the outcome in some areas wasn't what the sport fishing advisory board had wished.

"The sport seasons we got for selective fishing is more like a sliver of a package that is so close to zero and a complete disappointment," said Tony Floor, director of fishing affairs for the Northwest Marine Trade Association and a sport fishing advisory board member.

The state Fish and Wildlife salmon policy coordinators adopted a plan to expand fishing for marked-hatchery chinook in Puget Sound this year, something that has been in the works for about two years.

However, the state's tribal fish co-managers have some concerns about increasing selective sport fisheries.

"We aren't opposed to marked-selective fishing, and are working with the state on the fishery and marking our chinook in helping with the effort," said Craig Bowhay, a fisheries policy analyst for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

"Some of those concerns are a need for strong monitoring of the fisheries, and impacts on natural fish and the sub-legal sized chinook [fish under the 22-inch minimum size limit]. We want to make sure we verify and calibrate that we are accurately assessing the impacts for ESA [Endangered Species Act]-listed fish."

While the tribes have shared their concerns, the sport fishing advisory board claims to have sufficient studies that show selective fishing does not harm protected wild fish.

Concern over this issue reached Congressman Norm Dicks, D-Bremerton, who will meet with state Fish and Wildlife officials, tribal fish managers and the sport fishing advisory board Monday morning in Tacoma.

"He is being enlisted as someone who can speak impartially to all the groups and using his ability to see if he can broker some type of meeting of the minds," said George Behan, a staff member for Dicks.

While all isn't rosy for Puget Sound, anglers can expect a robust return of 3.3 million pink salmon this year, which is almost twice as many that returned in 2005.

The Strait of Juan de Fuca [Marine Catch Areas 5 and 6] will get an increase in its summer selective hatchery chinook quota, from 3,500 to 4,000.

Central Puget Sound [Area 10] will have a marked chinook selective fishery from Dec. 1 to Jan. 31. North and Central Sound [Areas 9 and 10] will also have a marked selective chinook fishery from July 16-Aug. 15 with a quota of 7,000 fish.

South-central Sound [Area 11] will have a selective chinook fishery from June 1-Sept. 30, as will South Sound [Area 13] from May 1-Sept. 30.

"We're viewing this as a positive step forward in the use of marked selective fisheries, and while we haven't totally utilized the entire package, it is a substantial step forward and we are feeling pretty good about that," said Phil Anderson, of the state Fish and Wildlife's salmon policy coordinating group.

The sport salmon season off the coast and at the Columbia River mouth will see a dramatic cut in chinook fishing, but a much better outlook for coho.

"If the catch rates were like last year, they would get through the entire season on the chinook quotas drawn up. But if it is like 2005, then they'd get halfway through the season," said Wendy Beeghly, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist who oversees the coastal salmon fisheries.

Westport will be open July 1-Sept. 16 or until the quotas are caught, and fishing will be allowed Sundays to Thursdays. Ilwaco will be open daily July 1-Sept. 30 or until the quotas are caught.

At Neah Bay and La Push the season is scheduled for July 3-Sept. 15 or until the quotas are caught, and fishing will be allowed Tuesdays to Saturdays. La Push will also have a late-season fishery open daily Sept. 22-Oct. 7.

All coastal areas will have a two-fish daily limit, and only one may be a chinook. La Push and Neah Bay anglers will also be able to keep one additional pink salmon in their daily bag limit beginning Aug. 1.

Salmon fishing at Buoy 10 in the Lower Columbia River will open Aug. 1 for coho only, and anglers may keep chinook between Aug. 22 and Sept. 3.

Cuts in the Buoy 10 fishery were needed due to a weak return of Lower Columbia chinook.

Mark Yuasa: 206-464-8780 or myuasa@seattletimes.com