Puget Sound Fishing Charters

National Marine Fisheries Service APPROVAL
of Harvest Management Plan for 2005-2010

WDFW and the Puget Sound Indian Tribes have completed a multi-year plan for management of Puget Sound Chinook, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The "Comprehensive Management Plan for Puget Sound Chinook - Harvest Management Component" has been approved by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under Section 4(d) ESA.

Info thanks to the WDFW Washington State Dept. Of Fish & Wildlife And Puget Sound Fishing Charters

NMFS evaluated the joint resource management plan (RMP) for harvest of Puget Sound chinook salmon provided by the Puget Sound Treaty Tribes and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act and under sections 4(d) and 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). NMFS issued an Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) providing their analysis of the impacts of the plan on salmon and other factors in the environment. Following the EIS, an Evaluation and Recommended Determination (ERD) was drafted, issued for public comment, and finalized. Pursuant to the FEIS and ERD, NMFS made decisions related to the three different review paths underway. A Record of Decision (ROD) documents the NOAA decision relating to the FEIS. A Section 7 Biological Opinion (BiOp) was also completed in consultation with other federal agencies affected by the proposed action. Finally, a Decisional Memorandum relating to the fundamental ESA compliance mechanism – section 4(d) limit 6 – was completed, and a federal register notice filed notifying of the completion of this process. The Puget Sound Chinook Harvest Resource Management Plan has been approved by NMFS under section 4(d)(6) ESA for the period from May 1, 2005 through April 30, 2010.

The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) recognizes the value in setting aside certain areas of Puget Sound marine waters for the protection and preservation of species and/or habitat. These are generally known as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). This web page provides links to specific information about the MPAs that WDFW administers, to information on the science of MPAs, and to other web sites about MPAs administered by a variety of agencies.
Conservation Areas Marine Preserves

Sea Cucumber and Sea Urchin Commercial Harvest Exclusion Zones

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) analyzes implementation of the Puget Sound Chinook Harvest Resource Management Plan (RMP). The RMP regulates commercial, recreational, ceremonial, and subsistence salmon fisheries potentially affecting the listed Puget Sound Chinook Evolutionarily Significant Unit within the marine and freshwater areas of Puget Sound. The FEIS examines the effects of various harvest management strategies on a range of issues including fish species, economics, federal treaty trust responsibilities, subsistence and wildlife.

NOAA Sustainable Fisheries ESA web sites:

 

North Puget Sound

  • Fishing: With halibut and lingcod fisheries winding down in the region, saltwater anglers are gearing up for salmon season openers. In the freshwater, anglers are already casting for chinook and will soon have an opportunity to hook sockeye.

    Baker and Skagit River sockeye fisheries begin June 14, when anglers on each river will have a daily limit of two sockeye salmon at least 12 inches in length. On the Skagit, the sockeye fishery is open from the Dalles Bridge to 200 feet above the east bank of the Baker River. Anglers should note that there are two closures on each river in late June and early July, said Brett Barkdull, WDFW fish biologist. Barkdull suggests checking WDFW's Fishing in Washington pamphlet (http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm) before heading out on the river.

    "We haven't seen any sockeye in the river yet, so I don't expect a lot of fish for the opener," Barkdull said. "But there should a few fish around, and it should pick up after a week or so."

    Until those fisheries get going, anglers can cast for chinook salmon on portions of the Skagit, Cascade and Skykomish rivers. The Skagit is open to hatchery chinook retention from the Highway 530 bridge at Rockport to the Cascade River. On the Cascade, anglers can fish from the mouth of the river to the Rockport-Cascade Road Bridge. Both stretches are open through July 15.

    "Overall, the chinook fishery has been fair," Barkdull said. "There were plenty of people out for the opener, but since then effort has tapered off." The daily limit on the Skagit and Cascade rivers is four hatchery chinook, two of which may be adults (chinook salmon at least 24 inches in length). Barkdull reminds anglers that statewide rules require anglers to stop fishing for salmon once they have kept two adults.

    On the Skykomish, hatchery chinook fishing is open from the Lewis Street Bridge in Monroe to the Wallace River through July 31. Anglers fishing the Skykomish have a daily limit of two hatchery chinook salmon.

    Out on the saltwater, the northern portion of Marine Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) is open to catch-and-release fishing for salmon. Fishing is allowed north of a line from Point Monroe to Meadow Point. Handling rules are in effect for this fishery. Regulations in Marine Area 10 change beginning July 1, when anglers will be allowed to keep two salmon per day, but they must continue to release all chinook.

    Farther north, the Tulalip Bay "bubble" salmon fishery begins June 15. The bubble is open each week from Friday through noon Monday through Sept. 1. The bubble will reopen Sept. 6 with fishing allowed Saturdays and Sundays only. Anglers fishing the Tulalip bubble will have a two-salmon daily limit and chinook must be 22 inches in length to retain.

    Meanwhile, time is running out to hook halibut and lingcod. The fishery for halibut is only open two more days June 12-13, while the ling fishery goes through June 15. Anglers have a daily limit of one halibut with no minimum size limit. For lingcod, there's a one-fish daily limit, with a minimum size of 26 inches and a maximum size of 40 inches.

    Crab fishing is just around the corner. The fishery opens July 2 in marine areas 8-1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island and Skagit Bay), 8-2 (Port Susan and Port Gardner), 9 (Admiralty Inlet), 10, and the southern portion of 7 (San Juan Islands). Fisheries in those areas will be open on a Wednesday-through-Saturday schedule, plus the entire Labor Day weekend. See WDFW's sport-crabbing website (http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shelfish/crab/) for more information.

    Most spot shrimp fisheries are closed in the region. The exception is the Elliott Bay portion of Marine Area 10, which is open for one more day of fishing on June 14 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Shrimpers can also drop a pot for coonstripe and pink shrimp in some marine areas. For details on shrimp fisheries check WDFW's website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shelfish/shrimpreg/shrimpindex.shtml.

    Before heading out, anglers should check the rules and regulations for all saltwater and freshwater fisheries in WDFW's Fishing in Washington pamphlet (http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm).

South Sound/Olympic Peninsula

  • Fishing: Late spring storms have slowed salmon fishing off the coast, but anglers have been finding chinook in the calmer waters of southern Puget Sound. Meanwhile, sport fishers still have a chance to catch late-season halibut on the north coast and shrimp in some areas of the Sound, and three marine areas will open to crab fishing June 18.

    Rough weather put a damper on all coastal fisheries during the first week of June, including the salmon season that opened in all four ocean areas. Anglers fishing off of Westport and Ilwaco averaged one salmon for every three rods, and catch rates were even lower off the north coast, said Wendy Beeghley, WDFW fish biologist. But on Sunday, June 7, when the waves flattened out, creel checkers counted 65 anglers with 42 chinook at the dock in Westport.

    "The first week in June was especially tough on the north coast and few anglers were on the water," Beeghley said. "We'll get a better idea of how good the fishing really is once the weather calms down and more anglers get out on the water."

    Under this year's rules, anglers are limited to one chinook salmon per day from June 1-28. All other salmon species - including coho - must be released during that period. Starting June 29, the daily limit will increase to two salmon per day, including one chinook. As in past years, anglers may retain fin-clipped hatchery coho, but must release any unmarked wild coho they intercept.

    Salmon fishing in Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco) is open seven days a week from June 1-28 and will shift to five days a week, Sundays through Thursdays starting June 29. Marine Area 2 (Westport) is open five days a week, Sundays through Thursdays. On the north coast, marine areas 3 and 4 (La Push and Neah Bay) are open Tuesdays through Saturdays.

    Salmon fisheries in marine areas 5, 6, and 12 (Sekiu/Pillar Point, the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca and Hood Canal) will open July 3, seven days a week. Because each area has specific rules and regulations, anglers are advised to check the 2008-09 Fishing in Washington pamphlet before heading out (http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm).

    Weather has also been a factor in the recreational halibut fishery off the north coast, but anglers will get four more days to fish in June. Fishing will open June 14 and 21 in marine areas 3 and 4 (La Push and Neah Bay) at all depths, followed by a nearshore fishery June 17 and 19. In the nearshore fishery, halibut fishing will be restricted to waters no more than 30 fathoms deep. Coordinates and other regulations are included in the 2008-09 Fishing in Washington pamphlet and available online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/creel/halibut.

    On inside waters, halibut fishing will close June 13 from Port Angeles to Puget Sound (marine areas 6-11 and 13), but anglers can still fish five days a week in Marine Area 5 (Sekiu) through July 21. Those fishing in that area might want to sign up for the 13th annual Sekiu Halibut Derby, which will be held June 14 and 15. For a $15 entry fee, anglers will get a chance to win the $10-per-pound purse. Call Olson's Resort for more information at 360-963-2311.

    Lingcod fishing closes June 15 throughout Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but remains open through mid-October on the coast. Shrimp fishing remains open daily in marine areas 4, 5 and 6, while fishing for non-spot shrimp (coonstripe and pink) is under way in marine areas 11 and 13. All spot shrimp caught in those areas must be released.

    Dungeness crab fishing starts June 18 in three marine areas, with more to follow. Here's the summer line-up:

    • June 18: Marine areas 4 (Neah Bay east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line), 5 (Sekiu) and 13 (south Puget Sound) will be open seven days a week through Jan. 2, 2009.

    • July 2: Marine areas 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), 7 South (San Juan Islands), 8-1 (Deception Pass to East Point), 8-2 (East Point to Possession Point), 9 (Admiralty Inlet), 10 (Seattle/Bremerton), 11 (Tacoma/Vashon) and 12 (Hood Canal) will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays only, plus the entire Labor Day weekend and will close the evening of Sept. 1 for a catch assessment. These areas will reopen in the fall if recreational harvest quotas have not been met.

    • July 16: Marine Area 7 East (Bellingham and Samish bays) will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays only, plus the entire Labor Day weekend and will close the evening of Sept. 27.

    • Aug. 13: Marine Area 7 North (Lummi Island/Blaine) will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays only, plus the entire Labor Day weekend and will close the evening of Sept. 27.

    Like last year, crab fishers will be required to record their Dungeness crab catch on two separate catch record cards - one for the summer season and one for the fall/winter season. Also like last year, they will have the option of mailing in their catch cards or reporting their catch on the Internet.

    Meanwhile, salmon anglers in Marine Area 11 (Vashon Island/Tacoma) have had some success since the season started June 1, said Steve Thiesfeld, WDFW fish biologist. A WDFW creel check reported about one fish for every four rods over the June 7-8 weekend.

    "There are fish to be caught, but anglers going out this time of year need to be persistent and spend some time on the water," Thiesfeld said. "We expect better results when the main run comes in about mid-July."

    Thiesfeld also suggests anglers try fishing in south Puget Sound (Marine Area 13), where salmon fishing has been open since March 1.

    The fisheries in both areas run seven days a week, with a limit of two salmon a day. Minimum size for chinook is 22 inches, with no minimum for other species. Commencement Bay is closed to salmon fishing until Aug. 1. Selective fishing rules are in effect, requiring anglers to use single, barbless hooks (no treble hooks) and release any wild chinook.

    Details on rules and regulations are included in the 2008-09 Fishing in Washington pamphlet, http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm.

    Sport fishing for spring chinook continues on the Sol Duc, where salmon have begun to return to the hatchery. Salmon fishing will open July 1 on the Bogachiel, Calawah, Quinault and Nisqually rivers. Regulations vary for rivers throughout the area and anglers are advised to check 2008-09 Fishing in Washington pamphlet before heading out.

    Visit the WDFW website for more current updates to this report.
PUGET SOUND SPORT FISHING RESULTS
June 9 - 15, 2008
       
                  Other   Other   Other  
Date Site Boats Anglers Chinook Coho Chum Pink Sockeye Rockfish  Species Other # Species Other # Species Other #
06/10/2008 Narrows Properties Pk 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0   0   0   0
06/10/2008 Pt Defiance Bths 2 3 2 0 0 0 0 0   0   0   0
06/10/2008 Pt Defiance Rmp 4 6 0 0 0 0 0 0   0   0   0
06/10/2008 Redondo Pier 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0   0   0   0
06/10/2008 Redondo Rmp 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0   0   0   0
06/11/2008 Narrows Marina 4 4 3 0 0 0 0 0   0   0   0
06/11/2008 Pt Defiance Bths 28 40 16 0 0 0 0 0 Flatfish-general 2   0   0
06/11/2008 Pt Defiance Rmp 10 19 3 0 0 0 0 0   0   0   0
06/12/2008 Zittels Marina 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0   0   0   0
06/13/2008 Pt Defiance Bths 46 67 26 0 0 0 0 0 Flatfish-general 45   0   0
06/13/2008 Pt Defiance Rmp 50 98 5 0 0 0 0 0 Lingcod 9 Flatfish-general 35   0
06/14/2008 Gig Harbor Rmp 26 51 7 0 0 0 0 1 Lingcod 1 Flatfish-general 25   0
06/14/2008 Narrows Marina 6 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lingcod 3 Flatfish-general 9   0
06/14/2008 Pt Defiance Rmp 70 153 8 0 0 0 0 0 Lingcod 7 Greenlings-general 3 Flatfish-general 4
06/15/2008 Luhr Beach Rmp 7 11 1 0 0 0 0 0   0   0   0
06/15/2008 Pt Defiance Bths 47 83 15 0 0 0 0 4 Lingcod 1   0   0
06/15/2008 Pt Defiance Rmp 90 209 6 0 0 0 0 14 Lingcod 6 Greenlings-general 4 Flatfish-general 4

The info above was from the http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/creel/puget/ website. Please check out the website for more current updates as this info changes daily.