I LEFT OUT some information concerning the halibut quota for 2017 when I discussed an effort to extend the length of halibut fisheries in upcoming seasons in last Friday’s Outdoors column.
The International Pacific Halibut Commission met on Jan. 23-26 in Victoria, B.C., and set the West Coast catch quotas for 2017.
The total Washington sport catch quota last year was 214,110 pounds, and this year it is 237,762 pounds.
The catch quota also was 214,110 pounds in 2014 and 2015.
The entire West Coast catch quota for sport, tribal and non-tribal commercial fisheries is also up with a quota of 1.33-million pounds compared to last year’s 1.14-million pounds for Area 2A (Washington, Oregon and California).
Stable was the word used to describe halibut populations in the entirety of Area 2A, Canada and parts of southeast Alaska.
Last year, the sport halibut fishery in Puget Sound which includes the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Sekiu to Port Angeles,z had a quota of 57,393 pounds and the total catch was 102,699 pounds.
This year, the sport halibut fishery in Puget Sound is 64,962 up from 57,393 pounds last year.
The northern coast off Neah Bay and La Push caught 107,417 pounds last year with a catch quota of 108,030. This year, the quota is 115,599 pounds.
In total, the Pacific Ocean halibut fishery quota for U.S. and Canada is up 5 percent, the first rise since 2010.
Comment on hunting
Fish and Wildlife is seeking public comments on proposed recommendations for the 2017-18 hunting seasons.
Through Feb. 22, the department will accept written comments to help finalize proposed hunting rules and regulations. The proposals and comment forms are posted on the department’s website at tinyurl.com/PDN-HuntingRules.
Most of the proposals address changes in special permit levels and hunting-area descriptions proposed since the state’s Fish and Wildlife Commission approved the last three-year hunting plan in 2015.
However, one change proposed by the department would significantly increase the daily limit of white-fronted geese and white geese throughout the state in response to those species’ growing abundance. Another would allow the department to restore points to hunters who draw a permit for a damage hunt but are not called to participate in a hunt.
The commission also will accept public comments on the proposed recommendations at its March 17-18 meeting in Olympia.
Final action by the commission is scheduled at a public meeting April 14-15 in Spokane.
Proposed bill withdrawn
Something I wrote about last week, the proposed bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to privatize federal public land sales, has been withdrawn by its author, Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz.
Chaffetz heard an earful from sportsmen and women and conservationists on both the left and right side of the political spectrum.
“I’m a proud gun owner, hunter and love our public lands,” Chaffetz said in an Instagram post announcing his decision to pull the bill.
He insisted that the lands he wanted the government to sell off are “serving no public purpose,” but that “groups I support and care about fear [the bill] sends the wrong message.”
It does. Now please quit introducing the bill. And pull the companion legislation (H.R. 622) that would eliminate law enforcement officers from the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Those officers protect us and our public lands.
Benefit auction, dinner
The North Olympic Peninsula Chapter of the Puget Sound Anglers are selling tickets for the club’s annual fundraising dinner and auction at SunLand Golf &Country Club in Sequim on Saturday, Feb. 18.
Doors open at 4:30 p.m. for a social half-hour and perusal and bidding on silent auction items. The event itself begins at 5 p.m. and is open to all members and friends of the club.
Proceeds from the auction provide the majority of funding for the annual Olympic Peninsula Kids Fishing Day traditionally held in May at Carrie Blake Park in Sequim’s Water Reclamation Pond, and also for natural resource scholarships awarded to area students.
The ticket price is $16, and the preferred method of purchase is to email webmaster@psanopc.org. Those interested in attending also may phone 360-681-4768.
Silent and live auctions of salmon, halibut and bottomfish fishing trips, gear, tackle and more are planned.
A spaghetti buffet dinner, with choice of marinara or white clam sauce, plus garlic bread, tossed salad and dessert, starts at 5:30 p.m. A no-host bar will provide beer, wine and spirits.
Attendance is limited to 180.
All attendees will be entered into a drawing for a door prize.
For more information, visit www.psanopc.org.
Derby tickets
The North Olympic Peninsula Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers is a certified publicly supported organization with tax exempt status under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Derby tickets on sale
The annual Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby is coming up Feb. 17-19, the Friday through Sunday of President’s Day weekend.
Tickets ($40 plus any applicable service fee) are for sale online at gardinersalmonderby.org and at a host of retailers here on the North Olympic Peninsula and beyond.
The traditionally strong blackmouth chinook fishing grounds off nearby Protection Island usually produce the winner.
Marine Area 9’s continued closure to blackmouth fishing shouldn’t impact the derby.
The nonprofit salmon derby generates funds to support emergency and other services that benefit the Gardiner community.
Anacortes’ Danny Davis claimed last year’s $10,000 grand prize with a 20.7-pound blackmouth chinook.
Anglers will be entered into a drawing for a fully equipped 22-foot Hewescraft aluminum boat with trailer — a prize worth more than $85,000.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
