Commission to consider proposed changes to sportfishing regulations

OLYMPIA — The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is scheduled to take action on proposed changes to sportfishing rules in the freshwater areas of Puget Sound and the Washington coast during its public meeting Dec. 11-12 in Port Townsend.

The commission, a citizen panel appointed by the governor to set policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), will convene at the Northwest Maritime Center, 431 Water Street, in Port Townsend. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. on Dec. 11 and 8:30 a.m. the following day.

An agenda for the meeting is available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/.

During the meeting, the commission will consider adopting 50 sportfishing rules, which were developed with public input and discussed at the commission's November meeting.

The proposals include:

• Several changes to protect wild steelhead on the north coast of Washington, including adjusting gear rules on some north coast rivers and prohibiting the harvest of wild steelhead in several coastal rivers.
• Eliminating size restrictions and daily limits for eastern brook trout in most western Washington streams and crappie in several western Washington lakes.
• Removing rules limiting anglers to keeping only two trout that are larger than 14 inches in several western Washington lowland lakes. WDFW is stocking these lakes with larger trout, making the requirement unnecessary. 

To review the proposed rules, visit WDFW's webpage at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/rule_proposals/.

In other business, the commission is scheduled to receive briefings on this year's harmful algal bloom off the West Coast; conservation of Puget Sound rockfish; the status of a proposed boat launch at Point No Point in Kitsap County; and recent meetings of the department's Wolf Advisory Group.