Marine Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton area) to reopen for Chinook retention Aug. 18-20

OLYMPIA – Chinook salmon retention in Marine Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton area) will reopen Aug. 18-20, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.

“We are continuing to see high numbers of legal, marked hatchery origin Chinook in our test fishery, which indicates that we can reopen while still meeting conservation objectives for this fishery,” said Kirsten Simonsen, Ph.D., WDFW’s Puget Sound recreational salmon manager.

Marine Area 10 reopens for salmon fishing from Aug. 18-20 only. The daily limit is two salmon, no more than one hatchery Chinook or coho, but anglers may retain one of each. The Chinook minimum size is 22 inches, and anglers must release wild Chinook and chum.

The Marine Area 10 coho and pink salmon fishery remains open (with Chinook non-retention) from Aug. 21 through Sept. 30. The daily limit is two salmon, no more than one coho with no minimum size, and anglers must release Chinook and chum.

Catch estimates for the Marine Area 10 summer Chinook fishery indicate that through Aug. 13, 2023, anglers have reached 63 percent of the harvest quota and 80 percent of sublegal – Chinook under the 22-inch minimum size limit – encounters. The Marine Area 10 summer Chinook fishery closed on Aug. 4 and previously reopened from Aug. 10 to 13.

Year-round piers, Bremerton Boardwalk, Illahee State Park Pier, Seacrest Pier, and Waterman Pier, also remain open as listed in the 2023-24 Washington Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet.

Puget Sound salmon seasons are a result of an annual collaborative state and tribal salmon season-setting process known as North of Falcon (NOF). The public is invited to participate in this process in late winter and spring of each year and can visit the WDFW NOF webpage for more information. Learn more by reviewing the Puget Sound salmon fishery guidelines and quotas.

For full fishery details and regulations, reference the emergency rule change at WDFW’s website. Permanent regulations can be found in the 2023-24 Washington Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet. Other marine areas open for salmon fishing can be found on the WDFW website. To be notified of in-season rule changes as they are announced sign up for email notifications at wdfw.wa.gov/about/lists.

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.