ANOTHER DAY OF halibut fishing has been added to Marine Areas 3 (La Push) and 4 (Neah Bay).
Anglers fishing for halibut in those marine areas can add Saturday, June 15 to the calendar.
Poor weather on some earlier halibut fishing dates constrained catch totals and given the higher 2019 recreational halibut quota, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife added the date to the schedule.
La Push and Neah Bay will be open for halibut today and Saturday, and again Saturday, June 15, Thursday, June 20 and Saturday, June 22.
Through June, halibut is open Thursdays and Saturdays in Marine Areas 5-10.
Salmon changes listed
Blink and you may miss the Marine Area 9 hatchery chinook salmon season.
State salmon managers made a point of listing the area in a roundup of changes to Puget Sound’s 2019 summer salmon fisheries.
No changes were made from the agency’s initial salmon season announcement back in April, but Fish and Wildlife did provide some clarity for the upcoming season.
Fishing for hatchery chinook will open Thursday, July 25 in Marine Area 9 and will be closed beginning Monday, July 29 to determine how much of the 3,500 hatchery king quota remains.
That 3,500 number is a reduction from last summer’s 5,563 hatchery chinook quota.
The opening date is later than normal (usually mid-July), but the quick closure to assess catch totals in the popular Area 9 fishery is typical.
More than half of 2018’s 5,563 quota was estimated to have been landed on the fisheries’ first weekend last summer.
With neighboring Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands) shut down for all of August and Marine Areas 8-1 and 8-2 (Whidbey Islands) shuttered to chinook, it’s likely that those four days in late July will encompass the entire season for Marine Area 9.
Any subsequent openings will be announced by Fish and Wildlife.
Parks meeting Monday
Replacing the boat launch at Fort Worden State Park and the future of the park’s pier will be discussed during a meeting of the state Parks and Recreation Commission on Monday.
The meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Room A of the park’s Commons Building, 210 Battery Way in Port Townsend.
The state Parks Department plans to replace the boat launch at Fort Worden with “with one that is more ecologically compatible with the shoreline and its natural processes.”
Alternatives for the park’s pier include rehabilitation, removal, or removal and replacement of the pier.
Because the Port Townsend Marine Science Center has a facility located on the pier, a new location will be considered in the mix of options.
The commission is requesting public comments at the meeting on its preliminary recommendations.
Details of the recommendations can be found at www.tinyurl.com/PDN-Fort-Worden-Pier.
For more information call Michael Hankinson at 360-725-9756 or Tim Bell at 360-725-9759.
Free fishing, save the date
Save the date — the state’s free fishing weekend is coming up Saturday and Sunday.
That includes a halibut opening Saturday.
During those two days, no license will be required to fish or gather shellfish in any waters open to fishing in Washington State.
Anglers who take part in free fishing weekend can also participate in the department’s 2019 Trout Fishing Derby and redeem blue tags from fish caught over the weekend. Interested anglers should check for details online at Fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/Home/FishingDerby.
Anglers will not need a Two-Pole Endorsement to fish with two poles in selected waters where two-pole fishing is permitted.
Also, no vehicle access pass or Discover Pass will be required during Free Fishing Weekend to park at water-access sites maintained by WDFW or Washington State Parks.
A Discover Pass will be required on state Department of Natural Resources’ lands both days.
Crabbing 101 workshops
Four Crabbing 101 workshops offered by The Clallam Marine Resources Committee and the Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee are planned this month, ahead of summer crabbing season.
Clallam Marine Resources Committee’s workshops are Tuesday from 2 to 4 p.m. at John Wayne Marina, 2577 W. Sequim Bay Road, and June 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Carver Room of the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St.
Programs are free but registration is required. To register visit www.clallamcountymrc.org or www.jeffersonmrc.org.
Rich Childers from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife will speak in addition to longtime crabber Dave Croonquist and Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe shellfish biologist Liz Tobin. At the second Clallam County Workshop, Childers and Tobin will be accompanied by crabber Don Hatler.
Crabbing 101 programs in Jefferson County are June 23 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Marina Room at Point Hudson in Port Townsend and June 26 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Washington State University Extension classroom, 97 Oak Bay Road in Port Hadlock.
Speakers will include Childers, crabbing veteran Troy McKelvey and Don Williams, who serves on the Crab Advisory Committee for the state’s Fish and Wildlife Commission.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
