DRAFT 2017 Summer Mark-Selective Recreational Chinook Fisheries In Marine Areas 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12 and 13: Post-season Report

In the marine environments of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound, abundant runs of hatchery Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) have been mixed with depressed runs of natural-origin Chinook salmon. Providing recreational anglers with opportunities to harvest abundant hatchery stocks while simultaneously protecting weaker, natural-origin stocks has proven to be a significant conservation and management challenge. The combination of large-scale hatchery marking (i.e., fin clipping) programs and mark-selective harvest regulations makes it possible for anglers to pursue and harvest hatchery Chinook salmon while minimally impacting natural-origin salmon populations. In such “mark-selective fisheries” (MSFs), anglers are generally allowed to retain adipose-fin clipped (“marked”) hatchery fish and are required to release unharmed any unclipped (“unmarked”, predominantly natural-origin) salmon encountered¹.

Since the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) implemented the first marine mark-selective Chinook salmon fishery in Marine Catch Areas 5 and 6 (Strait of Juan de Fuca) in 2003 based on state-tribal agreements (Thiesfeld and Hagen-Breaux 2005a ,WDFW 2008a), mark-selective Chinook salmon fishing regulations have been implemented in multiple Puget Sound Marine Catch Areas during both the summer and winter seasons. As of the close of the summer 2017 fishing season, summer Chinook MSFs have occurred in Areas 5 and 6 for fifteen consecutive seasons, in Areas 9, 10, 11, and 13 for eleven consecutive seasons and in Area 12 for six consecutive seasons, Area 7 for its second season. Additionally, winter Chinook MSFs have occurred in Areas 8-1 and 8-2 for twelve consecutive seasons, in Areas 7, and 9 for ten consecutive seasons, in Areas 11 and 12 for eight consecutive seasons, in Area 6 for five seasons and in Area 5 for its third season².

During the 2017 summer season, May through September, WDFW implemented six mark-selective Chinook salmon fisheries in Areas 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13. The Chinook MSF seasons in each area were scheduled as follows:

• Areas 5 and 6 from July 1 through August 15, 2017;
• Area 7 from July 1 through July 31, 2017;
• Area 9 from July 16 through August 15, 2017;
• Area 10 from July 16 through August 15, 2017;
• Area 11 from June 1 through September 30, 2017;
• Area 12 from July 1 through September 30, 2017; and
• Area 13 from May 1 through September 30, 2017.

1. The regulations specific to summer mark-selective fisheries in Puget Sound Marine Catch Areas allowed for the retention of up to two legal-sized (>22 inches [56 cm]) marked Chinook salmon per day and required the immediate release of all unmarked or sublegal Chinook salmon. Additionally, anglers were: i) required to use single-point, barbless hooks while fishing for salmon, ii) held to a combined (all salmon species) two-fish daily limit, and iii) held to a handling rule that prevented them from bringing unmarked and/or sublegal Chinook aboard their vessels.
2. For information regarding effort, harvest and impacts estimates related to these fisheries, see the references listed at the end of this report, or visit: https://wdfw.wa.gov/publications?title=&term_node_tid_depth=26268&author= .