ROCKFISH TEND TO be an afterthought for saltwater anglers.
Most are either caught inadvertently or after anglers have given up on the big prize, be it salmon or halibut.
Yet with several species in trouble in Puget Sound, they just might have a profound effect on recreational anglers in the near future.
Lingcod anglers throughout Strait of Juan de Fuca will feel the pinch this spring when the state’s new 120-foot bottomfish depth restriction goes into effect.
Given the stated aims of the state’s recently released Revised Puget Sound Rockfish Conservation Plan, that’s likely just the first fishery that will see such rule changes.
Halibut and, yes, even salmon fishing could be affected by the far-reaching plan in the years to come.
Changes to halibut fishing could come as soon as next year, according to state fish biologist Greg Bargmann.
“Perhaps by 2011 [that could happen],” Bargmann said. “My crystal ball tells me that.
“I don’t know exactly how that is going to play out, whether it will be certain areas and/or certain depth restrictions.”
The biggest problem with rockfish isn’t that they are targeted too much by anglers.
Rather, it’s the incidental catch and high mortality rate that accompanies it, which hurts rockfish populations the most.
Numbers included in the state conservation plan estimated that Puget Sound anglers encountered 35,325 rockfish a year between 2004-07, with 64 percent being released.
The mortality rate increases with fishing depth, according to the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), which puts it at 100 percent for fish hooked at depths of 180 feet. (That’s compared to 17-37 percent for rockfish caught at 120 feet or shallower.)
That’s why depth restrictions on other fisheries — like the one imposed on lingcod — is seen as an effective way to limit recreational anglers’ impacts.
The state also took away the one rockfish daily limit inside the Strait. That may be enough to keep it from limiting depths for salmon anglers, Bargmann said.
“We talked about that a lot this year, and we decided not to do it,” he said about a depth rule. “The salmon people, they report catching lots of rockfish.
“But really, I think what happens is people go salmon fishing and then at the end of the day they stop by a rock pile and catch some rockfish [to cap the day].”
Catch figures
The PFMC figures tell a different story.
The second largest number of incidental rockfish catches between 2004-07 are by salmon anglers (8,742), who also have the highest release rate (77 percent).
Halibut anglers, on the other hand, had the lowest total (658) and the second-lowest release rate (50).
This could be because there are simply many more opportunities to catch salmon in a given year than halibut.
Regardless, it appears that it’s the flatty fishers who are the most likely to see rockfish-related fishing restrictions.
“Perhaps by 2011 [that will happen],” Bargmann said. “I’d like to get through this season and see what happens.”
If that means across the board depth restrictions, Strait anglers will suffer quite a bit, according to Bob Aunspach of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles.
“It would be the end of halibut fishing here pretty much in the Straits,” Aunspach said of Area 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca).
Most of the premier halibut holes in the Strait fall way past the 120-foot range, he said.
While there are a few around that would remain open with such a depth restriction (Green Point and in front of Whiskey Creek) several others would not (31-36 Bank, the Rock Pile, Hein Bank and in front of Ediz Hook).
“I hope it doesn’t go there,” Aunspach said. “The places we fish halibut don’t have these rockfish out here. I’ve fished halibut here all my life and I’ve never caught rockfish.
“We’re fishing sandy bottoms out here a lot of times.”
While lingcod anglers will surely be affected, Aunspach doesn’t believe it would be quite as much.
“I think it will have a pretty large impact, but not devastating,” Bargmann said. “A lot of people tell me there’s plenty of lingcod in waters less than 120 feet.
“It may require people to change their fishing patterns in response to this.”
Rockfish plan
The revised Puget Sound Rockfish Conservation Plan can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/yjs8d7o.
The most notable change in the new draft involves increasing the geographic scope of the conservation plan.
The original draft plan did not include marine waters stretching from the Sekiu River west to Cape Flattery in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The revised plan includes that portion, as well as the remainder of the Strait, the San Juan Islands and Puget Sound.
That should have little or no bearing on the proposed bottomfish and halibut closure area on the northwest tip of the Peninsula, according to Bargmann
“It’s related slightly, but it’s really two different things,” he said, noting that the proposal has more to do with providing an underwater diving park.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is accepting public comments on the plan through May 21.
There will also be a public meeting discussing the plan in Port Angeles on April 21.
It is set for 6 p.m. at the North Olympic Library System’s main library in Port Angeles, 2210 S. Peabody St.
Comments on the draft plan can be submitted by e-mail to SEPAdesk2@dfw.wa.gov, by FAX to 360-902-2946, or by U.S. Mail to WDFW SEPA Desk, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA 98501-1091.
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Matt Schubert is the outdoors and sports columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column regularly appears on Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.