Commercial Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor gillnet salmon fishery

Information, documents, and reported harvest of salmon for the Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor commercial gillnet fishery.

 

If you would like to be included in any updates or emails sent out by the Region 6 staff, please send an email to WillapaBay@dfw.wa.gov and let us know you want to be added to our distribution list.

 

Schedules, regulations, and other information

It is required that all operators complete a “Fish Friendly” workshop to fish the Fall Fishery in Willapa Bay and/or Grays Harbor. See Letter to Interested Parties below.

Reporting

Willapa Bay

The Department has CLOSED the Willapa Bay commercial salmon fishery effective Monday, November 8 and Monday, November 15, 2021 via emergency regulation.

  • The catch of Willapa Bay coho has been higher than preseason predictions.  This salmon closure is a conservation measure to ensure that natural origin coho spawner escapement is met.
  • It will be unlawful to fish for salmon in Willapa Bay for commercial purposes on November 8 and November 15, 2021 in all commercial fishing areas.  

The Department has CLOSED the Willapa Bay commercial salmon fishery effective Monday, November 1, 2021 via emergency regulation.  

  • The catch of Willapa Bay chum has been higher than preseason predictions.  Based on the reported catch relative to the preseason predictions, a modification of the commercial fishery is necessary to help ensure the natural spawning escapement objective for chum is met.  
  • It will be unlawful to fish for salmon in Willapa Bay for commercial purposes on November 1, 2021 in all commercial fishing areas.  
  • The Department will continue to evaluate data as it comes in.  

Effective September 20 - 25, 2021, the Department has modified the Willapa Bay commercial salmon fishery via emergency regulation.  These modifications include:

  1. Area 2U will CLOSE to commercial salmon fishing Tuesday, September 21, 2021.  

  • The fishery (all areas scheduled to open this week) will be required to use tangle net gear (maximum mesh 4 1/4 ") for this week instead of switching to small mesh gear (maximum mesh 6 1/2") as originally scheduled. 

  •  It will be unlawful to fish for salmon in Willapa Bay for commercial purposes in area 2U on September 21 and it will be unlawful to use any gear larger than 4 1/4".  

  • The remaining fishing days for this week will remain as originally scheduled.  All other rules remain in effect for September 20 - 25, 2021.  

  • The impacts of natural origin fall Chinook have been higher than preseason predictions.  The purpose of this modification is to reduce the number of natural origin Chinook impacts in the commercial fishery to preserve coho opportunity with the limited remaining Chinook impacts available and ensure that the conservation objectives for Chinook are met.  

Effective immediately, the Department has CLOSED the Willapa Bay commercial salmon fishery next week on Sunday, September 12, Tuesday, September 14, and Saturday, September 18, 2021 via emergency regulation.  

  • Based on preseason predictions and uncertainty around run sizes of Chinook in-season, a modification of the commercial fishery was necessary to help ensure that conservation objectives for Chinook are met.  
  • It will be unlawful to fish for salmon in Willapa Bay for commercial purposes on September 12, 14, and 18, 2021 in all commercial fishing areas.
  • The remaining scheduled fishing day, Thursday, September 16, 2021 will remain OPEN to commercial salmon fishing.  All other rules for the Willapa Bay commercial fishery remain in effect for September 16, 2021.  

 

 

Grays Harbor

Gillnet schedule summaries

Gillnet landings archive

Willapa Bay fall commercial salmon landings
2021 Willapa Bay Commercial Gillnet Salmon Fishery Landings

This information is preliminary and subject to change.

Date Statistical 
Week		 Area(s) Chinook Coho Chum
Aug. 20 34 2N 663 1 0
Aug. 27 35 2N, 2M 1,092 34 0
Sept. 3 36 2U, 2N, 2M, 2T2U, 2N, 2M, 2T2N, 2M 810 109 0
Sept. 10 37 2N, 2M 654 653 2
Sept 16 38 2N, 2M, 2T, 2U 423 3,682 9
Sept 19 - 25 39 2N, 2M, 2R, 2T, 2U 255 10,228 140
Sept 26 - Oct 2 40 2N, 2M, 2R, 2T, 2U 88 3,769 390
Oct 3 - 9 41 2N, 2M, 2R, 2T, 2U 56 2,679 679
Oct 10 - 16 42 2N, 2M, 2R, 2T, 2U 14 2,603 3,681
Oct 17 - 23 43 2N, 2M, 2R, 2T, 2U 5 1,052 6,570
Oct. 31 - Nov 6 45 2N, 2T, 2U Closed    
Nov 7 - 13 46 2N, 2M, 2T, 2U Closed    
Nov 14 - 20 47 2N, 2M, 2U Closed    

Season totals

Chinook Coho Chum
4,060 24,810 11,471

Grays Harbor non-treaty commercial gillnet landings
2021 Grays Harbor Non-treaty Commercial Gillnet Salmon Fishery Landings

This information is preliminary and subject to change.

Grays Harbor area 2C

Date Stat week Chinook Coho Chum

Oct. 18

43

69

200

287

Oct. 19

43

6

12

22

Oct. 20

43

0

0

0

Oct. 24

0

0

0

0

Oct. 25

0

0

0

0

Oct. 26

0

0

0

0

Totals

Chinook Coho Chum
75 212 309

Grays Harbor areas 2A and 2D

Date Stat week Chinook Coho Chum
Oct. 25

44

 1 480 2,975
Oct. 26

44

 1 103 202
Oct. 27

44

 0 335 829
Nov. 2

45

 0 247 666
Nov. 3

45

 0 113 122

Totals

Chinook Coho Chum
2 1,290 4,794

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