MARINE AREA 5 (SEKIU) and Marine Area 6 (Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca) bear the brunt of cutbacks in recreational saltwater fisheries released this week by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
A regional fisheries package for recreational and tribal shares developed by the tribal and state co-managers was approved this week by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council.
These seasons came about with less of the acrimony, hand wringing and threat of litigation that plagued the 2016 season-setting negotiations.
But the results, while marginally better for anglers than 2016, are far from great, far from good, even.
Summer king season
The lone positives for Strait anglers — Sekiu and the waters off Port Angeles will see a short summer season for hatchery kings from July through mid-August.
Sekiu will remain open in mid- to end of August for a fishery that targets mainly pinks and hatchery-marked coho.
Port Angeles anglers will have to try for a hatchery coho or pinks during that July to mid-August period.
Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) will be open for hatchery-marked kings from July 16 through August 15 with a catch quota of 5,599 compared to 3,056 in 2016.
Then Area 9 anglers can bring in the boats and fish for pinks and hatchery coho only in a short shore-only fishery from Mid-August through early September.
Area 9 also will have a window for hatchery chinook in November, and mid-January through mid-April of 2018.
And now the bad. Lots of bad.
There will be no coho opening in September or October in Sekiu in a bid to protect depleted coho stocks heading to the Skagit and Stillaguamish rivers.
Fewer than 19,000 coho are expected to return to the Skagit River. That’s about 80 percent fewer fish than recent average returns.
About 9,000 coho are projected to return to the Stillaguamish River, or about one-third of recent returns.
Port Angeles will endure a closure lasting from mid-August through February of 2018, before opening for a short hatchery blackmouth season from March through mid-April.
At least the blackmouth should be well-fed by then.
“It is like buyer’s remorse as you look out in the driveway and felt like you didn’t get the best deal,” said Jim Unsworth, the state Fish and Wildlife director on a Tuesday conference call.
“We are reaching the bottom of fish lows. I know next year will be another very tough one from the summer drought of 2015.”
“I am a strong believer in marked-selective fisheries, and it is not lost forever and will come back,” Unsworth said. “Lessons have been learned and some fisheries [lost] frustrated us.”
In this odd-year, anglers would normally have to fish through packs of voracious pinks in bids to target the real prizes, chinook and coho.
But anglers will have limited opportunities to fish for pinks in Puget Sound due to projected low returns of pinks this year. There are no “bonus bag” limits for pinks in 2017.
Expect a good deal of catch-and-release and catch-and-release again for pinks as anglers try to bring home a king or silver.
Anglers fishing Washington’s ocean waters will be able to retain chinook, as well as coho in all four marine areas, as compared to 2016 when coho retention was limited only to Marine Area 1.
Salmon fisheries get underway daily area 3 (La Push) and 4 (Neah Bay) on June 24.
The Neah Bay sport quota is 4,370 hatchery-marked coho and 7,900 chinook. At La Push the sport quota is 1,090 hatchery-marked coho and 2,500 chinook.
Razor clamming
Clam diggers have until Sunday to get their first crack at Long Beach razor clams.
Marine toxin levels had exceeded state health standards since last fall.
Long Beach and Twin Harbors opened Wednesday for five straight days of digging, while Copalis and Mocrocks will open on alternating days. All four beaches will be open on morning tides, with no digging allowed after noon.
• Today, 8:43 a.m., 0.0 feet; Twin Harbors, Copalis, Long Beach
• Friday, 9:18 a.m., 0.1 feet; Twin Harbors, Mocrocks, Long Beach
•Saturday, 9:55 a.m., 0.3 feet; Twin Harbors, Copalis, Long Beach
• Sunday, 10:36 a.m., 0.5 feet; Twin Harbors, Mocrocks, Long Beach
Halibut seminar
The short halibut season in state waters begins in May, but anglers can learn how to fish for the flatties by attending a free halibut seminar presented by expert fisherman John Beath in Sequim on Friday.
Brian’s Sporting Goods and More, 609 W. Washington St. No. 21, will host the seminar, which will run from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Store owner Brian Menkal said Beath won’t just limit his remarks to U.S. waters.
“He’s going to discuss fishing halibut here and in Canada,” Menkal said.
“He will explain how to get licensed over there and provide some good spots. Having the opportunity to fish for halibut in Canada is a big thing with how short a season we will get over here.”
And Menkal said Beath will offer plenty of tips and tricks for those who don’t have a vessel capable of crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
He also recommends calling ahead to 360-683-1950 to RSVP a spot at the halibut event.
________
Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
