TAHOLAH — The Quinault Nation is closing all its fisheries in Grays Harbor County and the Queets River to protect wild coho salmon.
The tribe is declaring a disaster due to economic hardship to its fishermen and their families, according to Quinault President Fawn Sharp.
“Closing the fisheries was a tough decision,” she said.
“The closure will have serious consequences and substantial financial losses for our community, but it’s the right thing to do as stewards for future generations.”
Low runs
The closures are warranted because of low runs of coho, said Ed Johnstone, Quinault fisheries policy spokesman.
“After analyzing the data, we concluded that the actual run sizes of wild coho returning to the Queets River and Grays Harbor are so far below expectations that closure was warranted,” Johnstone said.
“The closure will hurt our fishermen and reduce opportunity to harvest hatchery coho and other species, but the situation was so dire that Quinault Nation felt that even incidental impacts to wild coho need to be avoided at this point in the season.”
The tribe reported that it is working with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to determine how to approach management of fisheries directed at other types of salmon and steelhead.
The state department “has indicated that it has closed non-treaty fisheries in Grays Harbor and the Chehalis River and its tributaries,” the tribe said in a news release.
It and the National Park Service “have not announced decisions regarding sport fishing on the Queets River and its tributaries,” the tribe said.
As for a cause for a diminished return of the wild coho, Johnstone pointed to what he called a “Godzilla” El Niño and a blob of warm water off the coast, conditions that are expected to linger for the next few months.
“With forecasts of drought and continuation of adverse ocean conditions expected to severely impact food chains, we are extremely concerned about the ability of the fish that are in the ocean now and those produced from this year’s escapement to survive,” he said.
“The fish returning this year are not only low in numbers but in poor physical shape.”
Sharp talked of such challenges as ocean acidification, sea level rise and storms.
“We care about the Earth and the fish, wildlife, bugs, water, air and soil,” she said.
“These are not resources that can be wantonly exploited, but rather our relations that must be treated with honor and respect.
“We have to take responsible action here in our waters. It’s time to shut down,” she said.