The Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Commission advised state fishery
managers Tuesday to make concessions for better balance between conservation
and fishing opportunities on a revised Puget Sound Chinook Harvest Management
Plan.
The 10-year
proposal came to light on Dec. 1 when it was submitted to NOAA, and was
negotiated prior to between WDFW and Treaty Tribal fisheries managers.
The initial
plan was supposed to take effect beginning in 2019 through 2029, and also had
to potential to impact the 2018 salmon fishing seasons.
At a
commission meeting on Jan. 19, George Harris, CEO and President of the
Northwest Marine Trade Association along with other sport-fishing industry
groups including Puget Sound Anglers, Northwest Sportfishing Industry
Association, Fish Northwest and Coastal Conservation Association voiced their
concerns of the proposal that would’ve adversely affected the future of
marked-selective fishing opportunities for hatchery salmon.
During a
conference call Tuesday, the commission – a citizen panel appointed by the
governor to set policy for WDFW – instructed state fishery managers to explore
a variety of options as they revisit catch rates and other pieces of the
updated plan.
"Ultimately,
we would all like to see salmon runs restored in Puget Sound, but severely
restricting fisheries isn't the only path to achieving that goal," Brad
Smith, commission chairman said in a news release. "For that reason, we
advised WDFW staff to explore other salmon recovery options, including improvements
to habitat and hatchery operations."
The increased
protection for wild chinook in Stillaguamish and Snohomish rivers would’ve
severely restricted numerous fisheries since those fish are intermingled with
healthy hatchery salmon stocks and caught in many areas of Puget Sound as well
as Canada and clear up to Alaska the northern-most area of their migration path.
NOAA already
notified the co-managers the plan was insufficient, noting that several key
salmon stocks wouldn’t meet new — more restrictive — federal conservation
objectives.
"Over the
last few weeks, we've heard from many people who are concerned this plan could
result in the closure of all Puget Sound sport fisheries, but that's not the
case," Smith said. "Yes, the plan does call for reductions to some
fisheries, especially in years of low salmon abundance. But we have an
opportunity – given the need to revise the plan – to use various mitigation
tools to offset impacts from fisheries when and where appropriate."
The commission
asked WDFW to look at ways to increase habitat restoration efforts; improve
hatchery operations, including increasing production to support salmon recovery
efforts; and reduce populations of predators, such as seals and sea lions.
The review
process will take 18 months once the federal agency gives approval that the
plan is sufficient for a full review, making it likely a revision won't take
effect until the 2020-2021 fishing season.
In the future,
there will be opportunities for public comment during that review process, and
the commission has requested for regular updates.
The hope is
that a long-term management plan will reduce uncertainty in the annual salmon
season-setting process, providing more stability for sport and commercial
fisheries.
The commission
asked state fishery managers to continue to discuss the possibility of using
the 2017 conservation objectives for this year's upcoming planning efforts.
The salmon
forecast public meeting is Feb. 27 at the Lacey Community Center from 9 a.m. to
3 p.m. A series of meeting will follow in what is termed the “North of Falcon
Process” and final seasons will be set on April 6-11 in Portland, Oregon.
Members that
would like to learn more about the plan, along with feedback from NOAA, can go
to https://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/fisheries/chinook/.
