2004 Sockeye
Management Updates
June 30, 2004
State and Tribal co-managers met today to review the progress of this year's Lake Washington sockeye return. The total count at the Ballard Locks through June 29th is 91,118 sockeye. Comparisons with past returns show that it is still too early in the run to accurately estimate the total runsize. No sport or Tribal commercial fisheries are scheduled at this time. However, Tribal ceremonial and subsistence fishing for small numbers of sockeye (approximately 3,000 fish) is occurring this week. The co-managers will meet again on July 6th to review the return numbers. Another announcement will be forthcoming after that meeting on possible fishery openings (if any)

Troller, the season on the lake has usually been late July and into August. Still plenty of time for the run to build.

They are netting right now just below the locks. I talked to a few who were buying a new gill net and they said there were a lot of 9's and 10's.

Hey it's Billy's birthday....WHOOOPPPEEEE..let's have a ceremony!!! Let's all go out and net some Sockeye....ceremonial only....Oh yeah we're hungry too...almost starving....Hey let's go net some Sockeye....WHOOOPPPEEEE!!!! We have atleast one tribal member having a birthday almost every day and we certainly get hungry every day so Hey...let's net Sockeye every day...

Grandpa
There is no need to bash the tribes!!! If it was not for them we would be S_O_L!!! On the Sockeye end of things!!

I do not understand how the tribes can be given credit for this fishery. Did they build the Ballard Locks?? Here is an excerpt from the WDFW web-site.

*************************************
Prior to the 1930s, Lake Washington was famous for its large populations of kokanee (the freshwater form of the sockeye), but sea-run sockeye salmon were thought to be absent. In the year 1916, the ship canal was opened to serve as a new outlet for Lake Washington and to provide the water needed to operate the just completed Hiram M. Chittenden Locks at Ballard. This combined the extensive spawning grounds of the Cedar River with a large lake rearing environment, provided an opportunity to develop a major sockeye salmon population in the waters of southern Puget Sound.

Sockeye were introduced into the Lake Washington watershed in 1935 (and subsequent years) from the Baker River.
***********************************

I do not think the tribes had anything to do with this effort, and their treaty, written 50 years previous, could not have included it. But somewhere along the way they looked under the Christmas tree and there was this fishery handed to them.

Billy gets 3000 fish to eat for his B-DAY

The frustrating part about this is that the tribes are put in front of the recreational fisherman once again. I'll give them due credit for helping to create this sockeye fishery but if the escapement hasn't been met then why is anyone fishing it?
Does anyone honestly think the tribe needs this fish or it will starve? Will they sell any of the fish they catch?