ARCHIVED NEWS RELEASE
This document is provided for archival purposes only. Archived documents
do not reflect current WDFW regulations or policy and may contain factual
inaccuracies.
News release Sept. 4, 2014
OLYMPIA - Anglers fishing in Marine Area 1 off Ilwaco can keep up to two chinook salmon as part of their daily catch limit starting Saturday, Sept. 6. They also will be allowed to retain hatchery and wild coho beginning that day.
Anglers have a two-salmon daily catch limit in all four marine areas off the Washington coast. With the changes announced today for Marine Area 1, anglers will be allowed to retain both wild and hatchery coho in marine areas 1-4. All four areas are open daily.
As part of the two-fish daily limit, anglers will be allowed to keep up to two chinook per day in all ocean areas. However, anglers fishing east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh Line in Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay) must release all chinook.
Anglers initially were limited to one chinook salmon and hatchery coho - those marked with a clipped adipose fin - in order to ensure the fishery would remain open the entire season, said Doug Milward, ocean salmon manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
“We set conservative catch limits to start the season and have kept a close watch on the pace of harvest,” Milward said. “Enough chinook and coho remain off Ilwaco in the catch quota to make this change and still meet our conservation goals.”
Through Aug. 31, anglers fishing out of Ilwaco had caught 77 percent, or 10,130 fish, of the 13,100 chinook catch quota and had caught 66 percent, or 60,998 fish, of the 92,400 coho quota.
Ocean salmon fisheries are currently scheduled to continue through Sept. 21 in marine areas 3 and 4 and through Sept. 30 in marine areas 1 and 2. A portion of Marine Area 3 will open again Sept. 27 through Oct. 12.
Fishery managers will continue to monitor the ocean salmon fishery throughout the season and will announce any other changes on WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/.
Additional information on the ocean fishery, including minimum size limits and catch guidelines, is available in WDFW’s Sportfishing Rules pamphlet, available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/.