Areas 7, 9 Chinook Closure News; Coho Fishing Up Next

WDFW PRESS RELEASE AND WEB POST

Chinook salmon retention closes in Admiralty Inlet (Marine Area 9) beginning Aug. 5

Chinook salmon retention in Admiralty Inlet (Marine Area 9) will close beginning Aug. 5 after fishery managers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) determined it was nearing the recreational Chinook catch quota.

The current estimate of Chinook harvest for the Marine Area 9 summer fishery is 4,101 of the harvest quota of 4,700 (87%) agreed to during this year’s North of Falcon (NOF) salmon season-setting process. Chinook retention is being suspended beginning 12:01 a.m. Friday, Aug. 5, when it is anticipated harvest quota will be reached. 

“While closing retention early is never what we want, we did see three consecutive weekends of steady effort and good fishing in Area 9,” said Kirsten Simonsen, Ph.D., WDFW Puget Sound Recreational salmon biologist. “Suspending Chinook retention now will help us avoid changes to the scheduled coho season, which is already promising to be good, based on early reports.”

Chinook retention fishing was open in Marine Area 9 for a total of 14 days since the season began on July 14. Marine Area 9 will remain open for a hatchery coho only fishery – release all Chinook – through Sept. 25. The daily limit is 2. No minimum size limit for hatchery-marked coho. Release all Chinook, chum and wild coho.

Central Puget Sound (Marine Area 10) is currently open daily through Aug. 31 for hatchery Chinook but may close earlier if the quota is attained. Chinook minimum size is 22″. Other salmon species no minimum size. Daily limit is 2 and only 1 hatchery Chinook may be retained. Release chum and wild Chinook.

Additional information about this year’s sport salmon fisheries and the NOF salmon season setting process can be found at https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/management/north-falcon.

To support conservation objectives, in areas where multiple salmon stocks overlap—including most of Puget Sound—state and tribal fisheries managers must abide by harvest quotas and allowable impacts that are federally approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service based on agreed-upon run forecasts prior to the fishing season.

Given this federal oversight and the challenge of accurately assessing individual salmon stocks in a mixed-stock system, WDFW cannot increase salmon harvest quotas or encounter limits while fishing seasons are underway. However, salmon managers can add or extend fishing opportunities when available salmon harvest quota and encounter limits allow.

WDFW fishery managers continue to call on salmon anglers to submit voluntary Salmon Trip Reports to help to increase the amount of data available for in-season management. These trip reports are just one tool in a suite of options fisheries managers use to collect biological and fishery data for Puget Sound salmon. Other monitoring tools include dockside sampling, test fishing, and boat surveys. Anglers can complete the voluntary Salmon Trip Report Form online at https://str.wdfw-fish.us/home or visit the WDFW website at https://wdfw.wa.gov/licenses/fishing/trip-reporting to download a paper copy.

Area 7 not reopening for additional Chinook fisheries

After three consecutive weekend openings since July 14, the San Juan Islands (Marine Area 7) will not reopen for additional Chinook fishing after fishery managers determined it was nearing the recreational catch ceiling quota.

An estimated 98% of the harvest quota (1,766 of 1,800 hatchery Chinook total) in Marine Area 7 had been caught through July 24.

The good news is Marine Area 7 will reopen for a hatchery coho only fishery – release all Chinook – from Aug. 16 through Sept. 30. The daily limit is 2. No minimum size limit for hatchery-marked coho. Also release chum and wild coho. A Chinook fishery opens within the Bellingham Bay Terminal Area on Aug. 16, see sport fishing regulations for details. To view the Puget Sound salmon fishery guidelines and quotas, visit https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/reports/creel/seasonal#ps-summer-chinook.

To support conservation objectives, in areas where multiple salmon stocks overlap—including the San Juan Islands and throughout Puget Sound—state and tribal fisheries managers must abide by harvest quotas and allowable impacts that are federally approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service based on agreed-upon run forecasts prior to the fishing season.

Given this federal oversight and the challenge of accurately assessing individual salmon stocks in a mixed-stock system, WDFW cannot increase salmon harvest quotas or encounter limits while fishing seasons are underway. However, salmon managers can add or extend fishing opportunities when available salmon harvest quota and encounter limits allow, as is the case with this extension.

Several other marine areas are currently open for salmon fishing and can be found on the WDFW website at https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/management/north-falcon/summaries. Additional information about this year’s sport salmon fisheries and the North of Falcon salmon season setting process can be found at https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/management/north-falcon.