Commercial Puget Sound herring fishery

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Commercial Puget Sound herring season map
Photo by WDFW

The Puget Sound Commercial Herring Fishery is OPEN. This is a limited entry fishery.  See the map on this page for open areas/dates.

  • The fishery may close by emergency regulation if harvest exceeds 10 percent of adult spawning biomass.
  • Learn more about Puget Sound herring spawning biomass trends in the PSP's Vital Signs.
  • Questions? Contact Erin Jaco at 360-485-5033 or Erin.Jaco@dfw.wa.gov

Or learn more about forage fish ecology and management on this webpage.

Regulations

A commercial fishery for herring is allowed in Puget Sound waters using Lampara and Dip Bag gear with area, timing, and gear restrictions.

Regulations on commercial fishing for herring in Puget Sound include:

  • Lampara nets shall not exceed 200 feet
  • Lampara nets shall not contain meshes less than ½ inch
  • Logbooks must be fill out for every set and submitted monthly

For information on regulations regarding the commercial Puget Sound herring fishery, see:

2024 Monthly Landings

MonthLandings (in pounds)
January0
February0
March-
April-
May-
June-
July-
August-
September-
October-
November-
December-
Total0

Annual landings

YearLandings (in pounds)
2004720,914
2005794,511
2006445,437
2007861,443
2008652,547
2009583,930
2010680,961
2011477,470
2012562,830
2013405,190
2014453,910
2015675,610
2016459,040
2017401,050
2018528,605
2019409,490
2020210,000
2021626,154
2022568,110
2023462,925