Commercial Puget Sound salmon fishery test fisheries

Commercial chum fisheries are vital and serve as both economic and cultural staple for State and Tribal fishers within the Puget Sound. Chum salmon, commercially harvested in Marine Catch Areas 10 and 11 (South Sound) are co-managed on an in-season basis using the best available data and scientific methodology. Data collection includes both fishery dependent (directed fisheries) and fishery independent (test fisheries) data sources which are used to best manage the chum fishery for in-season conservation and harvest opportunity.

In conjunction with the Apple Cove test fishery operated by Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC), WDFW will add an additional two purse seine test fishing vessels to the South Sound. The aim is to supplement the information obtained from the Apple Cove test fishery by estimating catch per unit effort, sex and age composition, and genetic stock identification (GSI) in chum salmon fisheries in Marine Area 11. Below you can find up-to-date results.

Puget Sound Chum: Purse Seine Test Fishery Results