Salmon fishing off Westport (Marine Area 2) will switch to coho non-select beginning Aug. 27

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Photo by Chase Gunnell

OLYMPIA – Salmon anglers at Westport (Marine Area 2) will be allowed to retain all coho beginning Aug. 27, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) fishery managers announced today.

The recreational fishery is open for coho only from Aug. 27 through Sept. 30 or until the quota is achieved, whichever comes first, from the Queets River to Leadbetter Point (Westport subarea). The adjusted non-mark-selective coho quota in Marine Area 2 is 14,000. Fishing is also open Aug. 25-26 for marked coho only.

“Converting the remaining coho quota from mark-selective to non-selective required a significant reduction in the Marine Area 2 quota number to ensure the change does not increase the fishery impact to any of our wild coho stocks,” said Kyle Adicks, the WDFW intergovernmental salmon manager. “This change should increase the quality of the fishery and allow anglers to attain their daily coho limits faster, while also decreasing the impact of releasing more Chinook and wild coho than anticipated.”

Coho fishing has been good most of the summer although WDFW noticed lower coho mark rates in Marine Area 2 compared to Neah Bay, La Push and Ilwaco (Marine Areas 4, 3 and 1), which will remain open as a marked selective fishery for coho.

This change for Marine Area 2 was developed with input from and support from the ocean fishery advisors and was adopted by National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA) for Federal waters concurrently with WDFW for state waters.

The daily limit is two salmon. Coho minimum size is 16”. Other salmon species no minimum size. Release all Chinook.

Anglers should check the emergency rules on the WDFW website at https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/emergency-rules. Several other marine areas are currently open for salmon fishing and can be found on the WDFW website at https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/management/north-falcon/summaries. Additional information about this year's sport salmon fisheries and the North of Falcon salmon season setting process can be found at https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/management/north-falcon.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife works to preserve, protect, and perpetuate fish, wildlife and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities.