Proposed Puget Sound Chinook Harvest Management Plan – NMTA Update

The Northwest Marine Trade Association staff has been following closely a 10-year proposal on a new Puget Sound Chinook Harvest Management Plan that would take effect beginning in 2019, and could potentially impact the 2018 fishing seasons.

The proposal recently submitted to NOAA came to light on Dec. 1, and was negotiated between the Washington Department of Fish staff and Wildlife (WDFW) and the Puget Sound Treaty Tribes.

Last month, the NMTA staff of George Harris, Peter Schrappen and Mark Yuasa, attended two meetings with WDFW director Jim Unsworth and staff in Olympia. Other sport-fishing industry groups on hand for the meetings were Puget Sound Anglers, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Fish Northwest and Coastal Conservation Association as well as some members of the WDFW Commission.

The NMTA is very concerned about the harvest management plan set forth by the department, which could adversely affect the future of marked-selective fishing opportunities for hatchery salmon from 2019 to 2029.

NMTA President/CEO George Harris sent a letter to WDFW Commissioners with copies to Governor Jay Inslee; Jim Unsworth, WDFW Director; State of Washington Senate and House Members; State of Washington Members of Congress; and Mike Grossman, Washington Attorney General’s Office. You can view the letter at this link: http://www.nmta.net/files/Downloads/NMTA%20Letter%20to%20F%20and%20W%20Commission%20122817.pdf.

Members that would like to learn more about the plan are encouraged to read this link: https://tidalexchange.com/2018/01/04/wdfw-gives-up-puget-sound-fishing-for-nothing/.