That was a quick king bite.
A run of hot king fishing off Swiftsure Bank and across much of Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay) bumped up against the area’s 5,200-chinook guideline, according to state Department of Fish and Wildlife catch estimates.
As a result, chinook retention ended at 11:59 p.m. Saturday after a three-week non-mark selective fishery that began June 22.
Anglers in Marine Area 4 can now target hatchery coho, pink or other salmon species as part of their two-salmon daily limit. Waters of Marine Area 4 east of a true north-south line through Sail Rock are closed.
In an interview Thursday anticipating the closure, Fish and Wildlife coastal salmon manager Wendy Beeghley explained the move.
“Current catch rates would require closure of the fishery in this area,” Beeghley said.
“To go to a coho-only fishery, we need to have hooking mortality impacts remaining [in the chinook guideline]. We can’t exceed the total impacts associated, so to preserve coho fishery we have to end the chinook fishery early.”
Beeghley said that to reach the hatchery coho quota of 16,600 or fish through the final scheduled date of Sept. 30, some of the chinook guideline had to be sacrificed as part of those “hooking mortality impacts.”
“If the rule were to start on Monday, we would need 1,300 chinook,” Beeghley said.
Some in the recreational angling business were surprised by the move.
“The quickest I have ever seen [chinook retention close],” Joey Lawrence of Big Salmon Resort (360-645-2374) in Neah Bay said. “With the number of fish coming and the number of anglers it didn’t seem like we would be that close so quickly.”
Lawrence said he believed halibut fishing effort would have taken the bulk of anglers’ attention on the three days of halibut fishing that were added and overlapped with salmon season off Neah Bay, including Saturdays June 22 and 29 and Thursday, June 27.
“When you mix halibut days with salmon days it’s very, very hard to come out with an accurate number,” Lawrence said.
“Those halibut anglers, most of them are focused on fishing strictly halibut.
“That might be the downside of having added days of halibut [fishing] fall during salmon season — the catch estimates are thrown off track.”
Discussions with charter vessels operating out of Neah Bay also show a preference for halibut over salmon on those three dates.
And the move will have an impact on Marine Area 3 (La Push).
The daily limit of chinook will move to one king beginning Monday off La Push.
Adjustment of the chinook daily limit in Area 3 will help ensure that Area 3 stays within its sub-area guideline of 1,100 kings even if fishing effort shifts from Area 4 to Area 3.
In the most recent catch estimates, 103 chinook or 9 percent of the 1,100-chinook guideline had been landed through July 7.
Shrimping
Marine Area 6 (excluding the Discovery Bay Shrimp District) will open seven days a week for shrimp harvest beginning Monday.
Harvest days are currently restricted to Thursday through Sunday each week. Additionally, the daily limit in Marine Area 6 (Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca) is being increased to 120 shrimp per person.
Additional opportunity for harvest is being added to take the target share of spot shrimp in this area.
Some marine areas including 4 (east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line), 5, and 6 (outside the Discovery Bay Shrimp District) remain open for spot shrimp fishing 7 days per week.
Anglers meeting
Bob Alverson and Lara Erikson of the International Pacific Halibut Commission will speak at Thursday’s meeting of the North Olympic Peninsula Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers.
The meeting will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave., in Sequim, with a social half-hour and viewing of raffle prizes at 6:30 p.m. and the speaker presentation at 7 p.m.
The IPHC is the governing body for Pacific halibut from Alaska to California, including Canada.
Alverson and Erikson will discuss the purpose and methodology of their work and the natural history and biology of Pacific halibut.
A business meeting, which includes a financial report, government relations report, upcoming events discussions and fishing reports from members, will follow.
There will be a members’ raffle for fishing gear and a membership drawing (must be present to win). Refreshments will be served and the public is invited to attend.
Windsong Charters Port Angeles angler Roger Saari caught this chinook this summer while fishing Swiftsure Bank with Neah Bay’s Windsong Charters. All chinook retention is now closed in Marine Area 4.
