HALIBUT CATCH ESTIMATES for the first three days of the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound halibut season showed that 14-percent of anglers came away with a flatfish during the April 7-9 opener.
State Fish and Wildlife Department figures showed 130 halibut were caught by 925 anglers at an average weight of 24-pounds for a weekly catch of 3,105 pounds.
That leaves 80,105 pounds of quota remaining for the season.
Port Ludlow’s Johnson family landed a bigger-than-average halibut on opening day with Chimacum Middle School seventh-grader Caleb Johnson, age 12, hauling in a 43-pounder.
@orwhateveryoudo Took the whole family out Thursday for halibut in the Salish Sea! Video of our only catch of the day. #stabicraft #pnwfishing #fishinglife #takekidsfishing #boatlife ♬ original sound – OWYD Crew
Good thing it was bigger than average, the 10-member family all went fishing together, along with the family dog.
@orwhateveryoudo The second dish we made with our fresh halibut catch is a spin off on our popular lingcod pasta recipe! #pelletgrillng #pnwfishing #halibutrecipe #halibutfishing ♬ Just a Cloud Away – Pharrell Williams
The Johnson’s are avid anglers and enjoy grilling and cooking outdoors and run a food blog at https://www.orwhateveryoudo.com.
Mom Nicole prepared the halibut for dinner using a take off on the family’s lingcod pasta, swapping out lingcod for a cubed-up halibut filet. The recipe is available at tinyurl.com/PDN-PastaRecipe.
Shrimp seasons set
Recreational spot shrimp fishing will begin May 25 in most areas of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Recreational spot shrimp catches in 2021 exceeded the annual quota in some areas, reducing the available catch this season in places like Discovery Bay, Hood Canal and particularly Elliott Bay.
Also known as prawns, spot shrimp are the largest shrimp in Puget Sound and may grow up to nine inches in length, and the popular spot shrimp fishery is an exciting spring-time activity.
In all areas, the daily limit is 80 spot shrimp; with a total daily weight limit of 10 pounds (whole shrimp) all species combined.
2022 Puget Sound recreational spot shrimp seasons are:
• Marine Area 4 east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line and Marine Area 5 (western Strait of Juan de Fuca): Open May 25 each day until further notice for all shrimp species. Daylight hours only.
• Marine Area 6 (Port Angeles Harbor, eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, excluding the Discovery Bay Shrimp District): Open May 25-28, June 9-11, June 23-25, July 7-9 and July 21-23. Daylight hours.
• Marine Area 6 (Discovery Bay Shrimp District): Open on May 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. only.
• Marine Area 9 (Edmonds, Port Townsend Bay, Admiralty Inlet): Open on May 25 from 8 a.m. to noon only.
• Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal Shrimp District): Open on May 25, May 28, June 9 and June 23 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. only.
Additional dates and times may be announced if enough quota remains after the initial fishing days listed above.
Traps can be set one hour before official sunrise during any open period in the marine areas without specified harvest hours. These include marine areas 4, 5, 6 (except for the Discovery Bay Shrimp District), 7 East, 7 South, and 7 West. Traps must be removed from the water in these same areas by one hour after sunset at the end of an open period. The start and end times for all other areas are listed above.
Make note of this change
Starting this season, shrimpers who retain only spot shrimp may remove and discard the heads while in the field and before returning to shore – previously all shrimp heads were required to be retained after June 1.
Shrimpers retaining any shrimp species other than spot shrimp must continue to retain the heads of all species (including spot shrimp) until finished and on shore to verify compliance with the 10-pound daily limit.
All shrimp — including spot, dock, coonstripe, and pink shrimp — can be kept as part of the daily limit. However, because only larger-mesh (1-inch) traps are allowed during the seasons announced here, most harvest will be spot shrimp.
