Outdoors Notebook | Illegal angling could put dent in fragile rockfish population

The Puget Sound rockfish populations are in dire straits, and all it takes is a handful of criminal anglers to put a huge dent in one spawning habitat area.

A state Fish and Wildlife enforcement officer cited fishermen late May 30 and early May 31 at the Shilshole Bay pier. One group had collected a few dozen fish, including rockfish, which are under review for potential Endangered Species Act protection.

"I know how fragile our rockfish populations are in Puget Sound, and I am having one of our rockfish biologists do an impact statement for my report," officer Erik Olson said. "They easily took a quarter of the rockfish population in that small area, and it could affect spawning since half of the rockfish were of spawning age."

On the evening of May 30, Olson issued a ticket to three people for exceeding the limit of 41 red rock crabs, and for fishing during a closed season at the Shilshole Bay pier.

"One of them had a warrant for his arrest, so I took him to jail, and on the way home I decided to go through Shilshole one more time around 12:30 a.m. [on May 31]," Olson said. "I saw a truck parked right in front of the pier with the tailgate down and thought that looked odd."

Olson checked on the truck's license plate, and it was registered to one of the men Olson had ticketed earlier.

"I was watching the truck for an hour and a half, and I went up to the truck, shined my flashlight and noticed an electric trolling motor in the back bed."

Olson pulled his truck into the parking lot behind Little Coney hamburger stand, next to the boat ramp.

About 3 a.m., Olson got out to take off his jacket when he heard scraping on the concrete, like a small boat being dragged out of the water.

"I saw five guys picking up the dinghy so I hopped in my truck, and said, 'Hey, Fish and Wildlife,' and they froze like a deer in headlights. It was so quiet you could've heard a pin drop."

Olson noticed three fishing poles in the boat.

"I asked them, 'So how was fishing?'

"The mouthpiece of the group said they had a couple of fish and threw them back."

Olson rubbed the hooks on the fishing poles and noticed they were all wet and barbed, giving him cause to check the vehicle.

"I shined my flashlight in the back of the truck and saw a black bag, and asked them what was in it and got no response. So I repeated the question again about how fishing was. The mouthpiece then said they had some fish, and I told them to take the bag out and it was pretty heavy."

The bag held 39 rockfish, mostly copper and brown, from 2 inches to 15 inches, plus a perch, catfish and four juvenile salmon.

The men said they had been fishing the Shilshole jetty rock wall up into the Lake Washington Ship Canal; one had a fishing license.

Olson said he plans to file a second-degree commercial-fishing violation against the anglers and will pursue a heavier penalty than the maximum $1,000 fine. He could cite only three of the men, however, because there were three poles found in the boat.

Greg Bargmann, a state Fish and Wildlife bottom-fish biologist, said that rockfish populations are poor in most of Puget Sound, and virtually no commercial fishing is allowed. Sport anglers are limited to one rockfish per day.

"Generally the rockfish are in pretty bad shape around Puget Sound, and we are really trying to protect them," Bargmann said.

He said there is an endangered-species petition for five Puget Sound rockfish species under review. The petition includes yelloweye, canary, red and green stripe, and bocaccio rockfish.

"Those rockfish love that area around the Shilshole jetty, and that is a shame," Bargmann said.

Notes

• If you thought skiing and snowboarding are over, then you might want to recheck your summer plans and head to Whistler-Blackcomb Resort where the Horstman Glacier opens Monday, and the area is also doubling its terrain park features and upgrading to a Superpipe.

Chair upload from the valley is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. for sightseers and 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. for skiers and boarders. Glacier skiing is open noon-3 p.m. and runs through July 27. Details: www.whistlerblackcomb.com.

• The Outdoor Emporium free how-to clinic is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. June 14. Tom Nelson will discuss salmon fishing and crabbing in Puget Sound, and how to cook and clean your catch, plus great seafood recipes. The store is located at 1701 Fourth Ave. in Seattle. Details: 206-624-6550.

• The Puget Sound Anglers of Lake Washington meeting is 7 p.m. Thursday at the Community Center at Mercer View, 8236 S.E. 24th St. on Mercer Island. Fly fishing expert Walt Swanson will host a seminar and demonstration on fly-fishing for trout and salmon. Details: 425-823-0704.

The club is also hosting a Lake Washington Trout Derby at Gene Coulon Park in Renton on June 14. Details: www.psalakewashington.org or 425-883-3689 or 425-823-0704.

• The Sekiu Halibut Derby is June 14-15. Cost is $15 per angler. First place is worth $10 per pound, second is $100 and third is $100. The largest sea bass is worth $100. Details: 360-963-2311 or 360-963-2334.

• Coastal Conservation Association is hosting a meeting 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Bella Marina Restaurant, 2615 S. Harbor Loop Drive in Bellingham. There will be a discussion on Puget Sound ghost nets, commercial poaching, and the over-harvest of salmon and steelhead. Reservations are required. Details: 360-927-4700.

• The Renton Chapter of the Puget Sound Anglers meeting is 6:15 p.m. Wednesday at the Kennydale Memorial Hall, 2424 N.E. 27th St. in Renton. Steve Theisfeld, the state Fish and Wildlife Puget Sound recreational salmon fishery manager, is the guest speaker. Details: 206-218-9759 or www.rentonpsa.com.

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