Area 6 Chinook Fishing Suspended; Pinks, Hatchery Coho Still Open

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EMERGENCY RULE CHANGE NOTICE FROM THE WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE

Action: Suspends retention of Chinook Salmon in Marine Area 6 (East Juan de Fuca Strait). 

Effective date: 12 a.m. Aug. 3, 2021, until further notice.  

Species affected: Chinook salmon. 

Location: Marine Area 6 

Rule: Salmon daily limit is 2. No min. size. Release all Chinook, chum, and wild coho. 

Reason for action: The current estimate of total legal-sized Chinook encounters is 6,843 (100 percent) of the total 6,843 legal-sized encounters agreed upon in this year’s List of Agreed Fisheries (LOAF).  Because 100 percent of the legal-sized Chinook encounter quota has been met, WDFW staff have made the decision to suspend Chinook retention in order to preserve coho and pink opportunities in Area 6.   

Additional Information: This Fishing Rule Change does not affect the mark-selective coho fishery, which will continue as planned.