This is link to the Grays Harbor NOF video meeting tonight the 12th at 7:00 PM. Staff has refined options and I assume will brief folks on them.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/get-involved/calendar/event/north-falcon-grays-harbor-fisheries-discussion-1



For those following the Willapa NOF here is the link to the video meeting tonight the 12th at 6:00 PM.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/get-involved/calendar/event/north-falcon-willapa-bay-fisheries-discussion-1

Couple folks asked when WDFW will release the season, the answer is no idea. We know that there is a hang up in the ocean with the tribes. The comanagers also need to come to an agreement on GH seasons and at the time of the Zoom meeting that had not been addressed. It may or may not take a bit for all the parts to fall into place.

It sounds like Sunday through Thursday will be the rule at the ocean out of Westport.

Here is the link to ocean recreational seasons from the PFMC website:



https://www.pcouncil.org/documents/2021/...il-adopted.pdf/

THX for finding that info and here is a C&P of the posting.

TABLE 2. 2021 Recreational management measures for non-Indian ocean salmon fisheries - Council Adopted. (Page 1 of 5)
A. SEASON DESCRIPTIONS
North of Cape Falcon
Supplemental Management Information
1. Overall non-Indian TAC: 58,000 Chinook and 75,000 coho marked with a healed adipose fin clip (marked).
2. Recreational TAC: 27,250 Chinook and 70,000 marked coho; all retained coho must be marked.
3. Trade: commercial troll traded 7,000 marked coho to the recreational fishery for 1,750 Chinook.
4. No Area 4B add-on fishery.
5. Buoy 10 fishery opens August 1 with an expected landed catch of 80,000 marked coho in August and September.
U.S./Canada Border to Cape Alava (Neah Bay Subarea)
• June 19-July 3 (C.5).
Open seven days per week. All salmon, except coho; one salmon per day (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 24 inches total length (B). See gear restrictions and definitions (C.2, C.3).
• July 4 through the earlier of September 15, or 5,730 marked coho subarea quota, with a subarea guideline of 5,825 Chinook (C.5).
Open seven days per week. All salmon, except no chum beginning August 1; two salmon per day. All coho must be marked with a healed adipose fin clip (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 24 inches total length; coho minimum size limit 16 inches total length (B). See gear restrictions and definitions (C.2, C.3). Beginning August 1, Chinook non-retention east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line (C.4.a) during Council managed ocean fishery.
Cape Alava to Queets River (La Push Subarea)
• June 19-July 3 (C.5).
Open seven days per week. All salmon, except coho; two salmon per day (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 24 inches total length (B). See gear restrictions and definitions (C.2, C.3).
• July 4 through the earlier of September 15, or 1,430 marked coho subarea quota, with a subarea guideline of 1,300 Chinook (C.5).
Open seven days per week. All salmon, except no chum beginning August 1; two salmon per day. All coho must be marked with a healed adipose fin clip (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 24 inches total length, coho minimum size limit 16 inches total length (B). See gear restrictions and definitions (C.2, C.3).
Queets River to Leadbetter Point (Westport Subarea)
• June 19-26 (C.5).
Open seven days per week. All salmon, except coho; one salmon per day (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 22 inches total length (B). See gear restrictions and definitions (C.2, C.3).
• June 27 through the earlier of September 15, or 20,440 marked coho subarea quota, with a subarea guideline of 12,925 Chinook (C.5).
Open five days per week (Sun.-Thurs.). All salmon; two salmon per day, no more than one of which may be a Chinook. All coho must be marked with a healed adipose fin clip (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 22 inches total length; coho minimum size limit 16 inches total length (B). See gear restrictions and definitions (C.2, C.3). Grays Harbor Control Zone closed beginning August 9 (C.4.b).
Leadbetter Point to Cape Falcon (Columbia River Subarea)
• June 19-26 (C.5).
Open seven days per week. All salmon, except coho; one salmon per day (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 22 inches total length (B). See gear restrictions and definitions (C.2, C.3).
• June 27 through the earlier of September 15, or 42,400 marked coho subarea quota, with a subarea guideline of 7,200 Chinook (C.5).
Open seven days per week. All salmon; two salmon per day, no more than one of which may be a Chinook. All coho must be marked with a healed adipose fin clip (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 22 inches total length; coho minimum size limit 16 inches total length (B). See gear restrictions and definitions (C.2, C.3). Columbia Control Zone closed (C.4.c).
For all Recreational fisheries north of Cape Falcon: Inseason management may be used to sustain season length and keep harvest within the overall Chinook and coho recreational TACs for north of Cape Falcon (C.5).
TABLE 2. 2021 Recreational management measures for non-Indian ocean salmon fisheries - Council Adopted. (Page 2 of 5)
South of Cape Falcon
Supplemental Management Information
1. Sacramento River fall Chinook spawning escapement of 133,913 hatchery and natural area adults.
2. Sacramento Index exploitation rate of 50.6%.
3. Klamath River recreational fishery allocation: 1,221 adult Klamath River fall Chinook.
4. Klamath tribal allocation: 8,135 adult Klamath River fall Chinook.
5. CA/OR share of Klamath River fall Chinook ocean impacts: 64.6% / 35.4%
6. Overall recreational coho TAC: 120,000 coho marked with a healed adipose fin clip (marked), and 14,000 coho in the non-mark-selective coho fishery.
7. For fisheries scheduled prior to May 16, 2021, see 2020 management measures, which are subject to inseason action and the 2021 season description described below.


A. SEASON DESCRIPTIONS
South of Cape Falcon
Cape Falcon to Humbug Mt.
• March 15-May 15, open for all salmon except coho, except as listed below for mark selective and non-mark selective coho seasons;
• May 16-October 31, open for all salmon except coho, except as listed below for mark selective and non-mark selective coho seasons;
• June 12 - August 28 or 120,000 marked coho quota. Open area extends to the OR/CA Border. Open for all salmon, all retained coho must be marked with a healed adipose fin clip;
• September 10-12, and each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through the earlier of September 30, or 14,000 non-mark-selective coho quota. Open for all salmon, (C.5, C.6). Open days may be modified inseason.
Two salmon per day (C.1). See minimum size limits (B). See gear restrictions and definitions (C.2, C.3). Any remainder of the mark-selective coho quota may be transferred inseason on an impact neutral basis to the non-selective coho quota (C.5).
In 2022, the season will open March 15 for all salmon except coho, two salmon per day (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 24 inches total length (B); and the same gear restrictions as in 2021 (C.2, C.3). This opening could be modified following Council review at its March 2022 meeting.
Humbug Mt. to OR/CA Border (Oregon KMZ)
• June 12-18. Open for all salmon except Chinook, all coho must be marked with a healed adipose fin clip;
• June 19-August 15. Open for all salmon, all coho must be marked with a healed adipose fin clip. Coho retention closes when the Cape Falcon to OR/CA border quota of 120,000 coho is attained.
• August 16-28. Open for all salmon except Chinook, all coho must be marked with a healed adipose fin clip. All salmon fishing closes in this area the earlier of August 28 or the Cape Falcon to OR/CA border quota of 120,000 coho.
Open seven days per week. Two salmon per day (C.1). See minimum size limits (B). See gear restrictions and definitions (C.2, C.3).
For Recreational Fisheries from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mt.: Fishing in the Stonewall Bank yelloweye rockfish conservation area restricted to trolling only on days the all depth recreational halibut fishery is open (call the halibut fishing hotline 1-800-662-9825 for specific dates) (C.3.b, C.4.d).
TABLE 2. 2021 Recreational management measures for non-Indian ocean salmon fisheries - Council Adopted. (Page 3 of 5)
A. SEASON DESCRIPTIONS
South of Cape Falcon
OR/CA Border to Southern KMZ Boundary (California KMZ)
• June 29-August 1 (C.6).
Open seven days per week. All salmon except coho, two salmon per day (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 20 inches total length (B). See gear restrictions and definitions (C.2, C.3). Klamath Control Zone closed in August (C.4.e). See California State regulations for closures adjacent to the Smith, Eel, and Klamath Rivers.
In 2022, season opens May 1 for all salmon except coho, two salmon per day (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 20 inches total length (B); and the same gear restrictions as in 2021 (C.2, C.3). This opening could be modified following Council review at its March or April 2022 meetings.
Southern KMZ Boundary to Point Arena (Fort Bragg)
• June 29-October 31 (C.6).
Open seven days per week. All salmon except coho, two salmon per day (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 20 inches total length (B). See gear restrictions and definitions (C.2, C.3).
In 2022, season opens April 2 for all salmon except coho, two salmon per day (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 20 inches total length (B); and the same gear restrictions as in 2021 (C.2, C.3). This opening could be modified following Council review at its March 2022 meeting.
Point Arena to Pigeon Point (San Francisco)
• June 26-October 31 (C.6).
Open seven days per week. All salmon except coho, two salmon per day (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 20 inches total length (B). See gear restrictions and definitions (C.2, C.3).
In 2022, season opens April 2 for all salmon except coho, two salmon per day (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 24 inches total length (B); and the same gear restrictions as in 2021 (C.2, C.3). This opening could be modified following Council review at its March 2022 meeting.
Pigeon Point to U.S./Mexico Border (Monterey)
• April 3-May 15 (C.6).
Open seven days per week. All salmon except coho, two salmon per day (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 24 inches total length (B). See gear restrictions and definitions (C.2, C.3).
• May 16-September 30 (C.6).
Open seven days per week. All salmon except coho, two salmon per day (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 20 inches total length (B). See gear restrictions and definitions (C.2, C.3).
In 2022, season opens April 2 for all salmon except coho, two salmon per day (C.1). Chinook minimum size limit of 24 inches total length (B); and the same gear restrictions as in 2021 (C.2, C.3). This opening could be modified following Council review at its March 2022 meeting.
California State regulations require all salmon be made available to a CDFW representative for sampling immediately at port of landing. Any person in possession of a salmon with a missing adipose fin, upon request by an authorized agent or employee of the CDFW, shall immediately relinquish the head of the salmon to the State (California Code of Regulations Title 14 Section 1.73).
B. MINIMUM SIZE (Inches) (See C.1)
Area (when open)
Chinook
Coho
Pink
North of Cape Falcon (Westport and Col R)
22
16
None
North of Cape Falcon (Neah Bay and La Push)
24
16
None
Cape Falcon to Humbug Mt.
24
16
None
Humbug Mt. to OR/CA Border
24
16
None
OR/CA Border to Southern KMZ Boundary
20
-
20
Southern KMZ Boundary to Pt. Arena
20
-
20
Pt. Arena to Pigeon Pt.
20
-
20
Pigeon Pt. to U.S./Mexico Border (through May 15)
24
-
24
Pigeon Pt. to U.S./Mexico Border (beginning May 16)
20
-
20
C. REQUIREMENTS, DEFINITIONS, RESTRICTIONS,

In the chatter some folks are having a bit of a struggle understanding why the last two weeks of Sept. drive fresh water rec to such a degree. Well the primary reason is that the month of Sept have few commercial days including tribal. So the rec is fishing on the run that has not been diminished by commercial harvest which means a far greater success rate for the rec angler. Come Oct you have nets three to four days a week which frankly means give or take 50 to 60% of the run going up the river is removed. Also tide water fishing tanks as the tribal nets go to almost South Monte and if you do fish your not only fishing on a smaller number of adults but there is a reason a tribal fisher fishes where they do, that is the best place to catch fish.

So when a season is modeled in a low return year the last two weeks of Sept are where impacts are greatest. Add to the mix the run can be early ( like last year ) which creates a far greater angler success ratio inland. Dumps the bay and tide water in the toilet at the same time. Dry years ( missing for a bit ) it works to the bay and tide waters favor and some years of no measurable rains until Nov. creates what could be called a prime fishery low in the river and really ugly ( not many fish ) inland. If the fish are late such as the year Steve shut things down ( after the commercial fisheries failed ) you have a variation of the same thing but in that situation it is the freshwater rec that will carry the heavy load of conservation.

So the Sept shut down time for recs is all about historical harvest and uses several years averages to find the number for projected impacts. To be honest yes the system used for setting Grays Harbor salmon seasons is not ideal to say the least. All that said minus a substantial increase in funding to use sonar or staff on the river seven days a week to assess fish movement and angler success I cannot see how you can do anything any differently in a meaningful way. Considering the state wide legislators we have presently and the real lack of knowledgeable individuals one should not hold their breath on this one.

In Grays Harbor staff has went out of their way to provide honest information such as models and options ( ideas ) which is not done other places with Willapa being the poster child for 100% pure GRADE
A WDFW BS. So guys we gotta go with Mike and Kim on the season thing. We may not like the outcome but I doubt if a viable alternative exist at the present or will in the foreseeable future.

A couple of us have been doing the what if thing for a Chinook keep fishery and ended up with this. If not in the 3 / 5 penalty then the odds are better. In this down cycle of returns in recent years the NT share would have to be substantial not four or five hundred or even a thousand. With the bay fishery and fresh water fishery the rec have the ability to catch a lot of fish in a full season. It would draw fishers and little difficult to model something that has not happened in a while. ( Chinook keep )

The way they run the marine harvest AK down it would take one h--- of a run to get the number of returning adults required for a rec keep fishery.

At some point, the landowners in GH County may want to ask why they have to protect habitat so AK can fish. If you want to protect and restore the FW habitat then I believe those who have to pay for it (the locals) should be first in line for benefits.

This actually was, and may still be, one of the pillars of the US/Canada (or Canada/US depending on where you sit) treaty; the producer of the fish gets the benefit of habitat protection and restoration. Otherwise, why do it?

4/27/2021

Sportsmen in the Marine area, Chehalis River and ALL tributaries, no hatchery or Wild Chinook are allow to be kept.

The total amount of "Bay, In-river and tributary" fishermen really have a hard time that the commercial fleet is going to be allow a 100% kill, included in that 100% kill is Chinook.. Wild and Hatchery, Coho....Wild and hatchery and of course all Chum.

What happened to the "recovery boxes", that were in use in the recent past?????

I've been around the Grays Harbor area since 1968, depending on the weather. there could be vast amounts of fish move past South Montesano because of "brown outs" or a mass kill by the commercial fleet, QIN and NT, because of "low water" where the fish "hang" in lower part of the Marine area and lower river to South Montesano.

WDFW can monitor NT fishermen, 24 hour reporting........but posting on the WDFW web site on QIN results can be a much longer delay. Mass wild Chinook and Wild Coho, killings could have long range effects...... There has got to be a better way of reporting netting totals.

There was. Back in the day, WDF required that all salmon sold be on fish tickets. WDF checkers looked at all the fish tickets daily and reported them to Olympia where they were put into the AFCRS system and available for viewing and use. Something over 95% of the fish caught on any given day were on the system within 3 days, normally even faster. Indian, non-Indian; all of it (Commercial). In the Spirit of Cooperation, WDF allowed the Tribes to compile their catch and then share it. Makes day to day management impossible.

Sometimes folks I wonder if any many really take time to look at the information provided each year. The modeled seasons this year have Chinook impacts modeled at bay rec W 51 & H 20, fresh water W 158 & H 42, and commercial W 12 & H 7.

Recs utilize C&R to extend opportunity ( time on water ) and commercials are not allowed a targeted Chinook fishery but do keep the few encountered as incidental. Coho are similar but again recs do C&R to extend the season and commercials burn their share in a shortened keep fishery. Also depending on how the fish are moving commercials ( and recs at times ) can have a god awful mortality if they get the fish in transition from salt to fresh. It is a rather short window of time but can be lethal to the fish and nets will get a bunch all at once. Recs might get a few as they swim by but they just do not encounter them the same way or numbers. ( hooks are not as effective as nets )

Take this year if Recs had a keep fishery on wild Coho we would have about a 10 day season, loose a rather large portion of the jack fishery, and likely all of Nov and Dec. The fresh water fishery above S. Monte 107 bridge eats a 5 1/2 times wild Coho impacts than the rest of the rec fisheries COMBINED.

As to the clipped Chinook these are part of the local communities long standing effort to rebuild and maintain the East Fork Satsop wild population that was nearly wiped out prior to the 80's. As one who was involved with the effort I have little sympathy for those that just approach salmon with I want to kill a fish at all cost mentality. That is how we got to this screwed up mess of management allowing marine fisheries to drive stocks to barely make or not make escapement. They do enough damage and we do not need to make it worse with the terminal fisheries with the same uncaring greed that drives marine fisheries.

04/27/2021

Rivrguy:

You know my feeling on "no Chinook adult or jacks in my boat", just me but even if I have others in my boat,,,,,no to smelly jacks and no adults Chinook for many years.

My post had to do with the NT not using recovery boxes on the very same fish that sports MUST PUT BACK, why don't the NT boys have to protect the very same fish sports have to??????

Time for the NT fleet to develop ways to release fish OR STAY OFF THE WATER !!!!

While I agree that the netters have to develop more selective fisheries, we need to seriously look at any and all C&R. The goal of C&R should not be the live release of the fish. It should be THAT fish successfully spawning. So, we need to do studies that tag fish post catch and then find out how many make it to the grounds. THAT then becomes the survival rate used in management. Wherever the fishery is located. Releasing a wild fish 5 times out in the ocean and having it die after #5 doesn't help rebuild the runs.

Going from memory the reason was with no directed Chinook fishery for commercials with the few encounters they have the few they impact is not enough to require that they release them. If the encounter numbers rise to the level of significant then they do require the use of recovery boxes but I do not know what the number to be significant is as it would vary with run size.

2021 harvest model has NT commercial at 19 total Chinook impacts which is nothing in the big picture. If your upset that nt commercials have 19 impacts while rec have 271 impacts with C&R I imagine I can find a commercial who will gladly explain why they think rec's impacts being 14X theirs is not fare.

Frankly with the GH Policy ending targeted non treaty commercial Chinook fisheries, requiring 3 days the river being net free, and harvest limiters for run size under 110% of escapement goals bitching about 19 Chinook impacts on the commercial side is a bit of a reach.

Comparing the two fisheries operating under two very different requirements is not really a defensible mental exercise. Considering that prior to the massive ocean intercepts we have now the GH NT fishery in GH was Chinook and hatchery Coho. In 2021 they are limited to around 20% rec share of wild Coho and around 66% of the NT share of Chum and impacts for Chinook barely move the graph bar off the bottom of the page. Actually to put it bluntly NT rec fishers have little to bitch about with the sharing with commercials and not in past years either since the implementation of GH Policy.

04/27/21


19 Impacts, what if it ballooned to 300 impacts? Don't say the NT fishers don't know when they are far past their allotted 19 impacts......

I need to remain you of the NT Chum fishery in Willapa, where they exceeded their impact by 15,000 Chum......think they didn't know they were way over????? Ron Warren said "a mistake was made".

I'm not sure the Chum run, in Willapa,+++ has recovered at this time....

NT Commercials and rec run on the preseason forecast and both can be under or over the modeled forecast depending on run size vs forecast. NT commercials are not required to call WDFW to tell them how harvest is going and neither is it a requirement for rec. Both have been known to exceed preseason estimate of harvest. To compare Willapa managed fisheries with GH fisheries is a bit out in wah wah land to say the least as the management is totally different, Willapa is managed for nt commercial.

Also just so all know commercials have WDFW onboard observers in place that do blow the whistle if things come a part and fish tickets at sale show the commercial catch. Recs catch on the other hand do not as a creel census only shows what hits the beach not how many were encountered to produce mortalities, also it takes two or three years for punch card data to be available. The fishery tracked the most closely is commercial for accountability. The fishery with the least accountability is rec fishers by a mile with the nation hanging out in the middle.

A clipped hatchery fish is not a wild fish, no matter what kind of convoluted explanation you give. If you want them to be treated as "wild" then they should not be clipped. Everyone is thankful for people like you who dedicated time and effort to rebuilding the run, but saying that certain hatchery fish are not really hatchery fish even though they are as defined by WDFW regs is contradictory and confusing.

04/28/2021


Wild Chinook, NT caught, in a tote is a dead fish, Wild Chinook released in marine or in river is not necessarily a dead fish and maybe has the ability to help increase the Wild Chinook run......

Until the Wild Chinook reach the level that they are no longer threaten, then the fish should be, indeed must be released to help increased the ability to spawn "in the wild".

Recovery boxes should be used, on wild Chinook, then released !!!!!!

The WSC has shown that traps are able to selectively remove hatchery fish and pass wild fish. This wild fish then show up on the grounds, hundreds of miles upstream. There is no (good) reason not to convert the NI commercial fishery to traps or perhaps reefnets.