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.

 

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

Effective September 11, 2020, The Department will close the commercial fishery Friday, Sept 11, and Monday, Sept 14, via emergency regulation in Willapa Bay. 
  • When the fishery resumes Thursday, September 17, the fishery will be required to use tangle net gear instead of the small mesh gillnet gear that was originally scheduled.   All other rules remain in effect for Thursday, September 17, 2020.
  • Chinook and coho encounters were much higher than predicted preseason. Based on the preseason predictions and uncertainty around runsize updates in-season, a modification of the commercial fishery is necessary to help ensure that conservation objectives for Chinook and coho are met. 
Effective September 17, through September 25, 2020,  the Department has decided to make additional changes to the upcoming commercial schedule for this week and next week.
  • Areas 2M and 2U will close to salmon fishing for Thursday, September 17, 2020.  The only areas open to salmon fishing will be areas 2T and 2N using tangle net gear.
  • The two days scheduled for next week, Monday, September 21, and Thursday, September 24, will shift by a day to Tuesday, September 22, and Friday, September 25, 2020.  The allowable gear to be utilized during these two days of fishing will also switch from small mesh gillnet gear (6.5" maximum) to the smaller tangle net gear (4.25" maximum).  All other rules for the commercial fishery will remain in effect.
Effective September 30, 2020, the Department has adjusted the commercial fishing schedule for this week by adding an additional day.  The fishery will open to commercial salmon fishing Wednesday, Sept 30, and Friday, October 2, instead of the originally scheduled fishing day on Thursday, October 1.  The scheduled time for these two days will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in commercial fishing areas 2N, 2M, 2T, and 2U with small mesh gillnet gear of 6 1/2 " maximum.  All other provisions and rules will remain in effect. 
  • It will be unlawful to fish for salmon in Willapa Bay for commercial purposes on Thursday, October 1 in all commercial fishing areas.
Effective October 6 - 9, 2020, the Department has adjusted the commercial fishing schedule this week by adding an additional day.  The fishery will open to commercial salmon fishing Wednesday, October 7, and Friday, October 9, 2020, instead of the originally scheduled fishing day on Thursday, October 8.  The scheduled time for these two days will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in commercial fishing areas 2N, 2M, 2T, and 2U with small mesh gillnet gear of 6 1/2 " maximum.  All other provisions and rules will remain in effect. 
  • It will be unlawful to fish for salmon in Willapa Bay for commercial purposes on Thursday, October 8, 2020, in all commercial fishing areas.

 

 

Grays Harbor

Gillnet schedule summaries

Gillnet landings archive

Willapa Bay fall commercial salmon landings
2020 Willapa Bay Commercial Gillnet Salmon Fishery Landings.

This information is preliminary and subject to change.

Date Statistical 
Week		 Area(s) Chinook Coho Chum
Sept. 6 - 12 37 2U, 2N 311 1,519 0
Sept 13 - 19 38 2U, 2N, 2M, 2T 97 1,381 0
Sept 20 - 26 39 2U, 2N, 2M, 2T2U, 2N, 2M, 2T2U, 2N, 2M, 2T 155 4,952 11
Sept 27 - Oct 3 40 2U, 2N, 2M, 2T 107 4,907 229
Oct 4 - 10 41 2U, 2N, 2M, 2T 43 1,920 1,231
Oct 11 - 17 42 2U, 2N, 2M 22 562 2,320

Season totals

Chinook Coho Chum
735 15,241 3,791

Grays Harbor non-treaty commercial gillnet landings

2020 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
TBA        

Totals

Chinook Coho Chum
TBA    

Grays Harbor areas 2A and 2D

Date Stat week Chinook Coho Chum
TBA        

Totals

Chinook Coho Chum
TBA