February 28, 2025
Action: Reduces the daily limit of the canary rockfish portion of the aggregate rockfish daily limit to five.
Effective dates: March 8, 2025, until further notice.
Species affected: Canary rockfish.
Location: Marine Areas 1, 2, 3, and 4 (west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line).
Rule: As part of the aggregate rockfish daily limit, it is unlawful to retain or possess more than five canary rockfish during seasons and in areas open for rockfish retention.
Reason for action: The reduced daily limit is necessitated by a lower Washington sport harvest allocation following a recent stock assessment that indicates a smaller canary rockfish population and needed to conform to federal rules.
Additional information: Fishery managers will closely monitor recreational catch. Further in-season may be necessary if catches of canary rockfish are trending higher than anticipated and risk exceeding the harvest guideline.
Fishery managers encourage anglers to sign up for Fishing Rule Change email notifications and to check for emergency rules on the WDFW website prior to fishing. Refer to the 2024-25 Washington Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet for fishing rules.
Information contact: Fish Program, 360 902-2700