WITH PRESEASON FORECASTS of decreased seasonal wild steelhead returns, fish managers with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife have made a move they hope will limit some of the pressure these fish feel.
The hatchery steelhead daily limit has been cut to two fish of a minimum 20 inches in size for the Hoh River from the Olympic National Park boundary upstream to Morgan’s Crossing boat launch through Feb. 15.
The same daily limit and minimum length also applies to the Quillayute River from the Olympic National Park boundary upstream to the confluence of the Bogachiel and Sol Duc rivers; the Bogachiel River from its mouth to the U.S. Highway 101 bridge and the Calawah River from its mouth to the U.S. Highway 101 bridge.
To minimize impacts to the wild population and meet conservation guidelines and minimum spawner escapement goals, the daily limit of hatchery steelhead is being reduced.
Permanent rules include only one single-point barbless hook allowed and internal combustion motors prohibited.
Hatchery steelhead are defined as steelhead with a clipped adipose or ventral fin and a healed scar at the location of the clipped fin.
Hatchery steelhead typically run smaller than wild steelhead, generally 5-8 pounds, with some fish into the low teens.
Most seasons, hatchery steelhead fishing gets going around Thanksgiving and the hatchery runs continue into January.
The Hoh peaks in January for the hatchery fish, with fresh hatchery fish still coming in as spring approaches.
The Hoh hatchery steelhead run a little larger than those steelhead returning to the Bogachiel and Calawah, although the river’s tendency for blowing up and discoloring badly after a rain limits the number of days it can be fished early in the season.
Disappointing closure
Frustrating news last month that the Skamania Hatchery, which produces around 250,000 summer steelhead, 100,000 winter steelhead and 16,000 cutthroat annually, is set to close.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife attributed the Washougal facility’s closure to the operating and capital budgets that were approved by Gov. Bob Ferguson in May. Only 40-percent of the agency’s $1.9 million funding request was funded by the state and The federal Mitchell Act — which established funding for the Columbia River Basin’s salmon and steelhead production starting in 1938 — has also been “chronically stagnant,” according to the agency.
Officials revealed they chose to maintain operations at the North Toutle Hatchery because it produces tule fall chinook and coho — two species that support fisheries along the Pacific Ocean. They also claimed that rolling back chinook production could potentially violate Pacific Salmon Treaty, tribal agreements, and Washington’s Southern Resident Killer Whale Recovery executive order.
Eliminate game fish
Quilcene angler Ward Norden has a more nefarious reason for the closure, what he described “the obvious acceleration of state fishery goals elucidated over 40 years ago in a symposium by the head of the Department of Fisheries” and later by Gov. Gary Locke, and former Department of Ecology chair then Gov. Christine Gregoire as part of the Shoreline Management Act.
Norden’s theory: these recreational game fish don’t pay the bills.
“Only hatcheries that just support the taxpayers with game fish will be closed over time, but the hatcheries subsidizing commercial fisheries (tribal and cowboy) are the priority even though they provide few dollars in the subsidy,” Norden said. “Some years back I crunched a few numbers to find that the taxpayer spend over $5 to put $1 worth of salmon into commercial fisher pockets and that is, if you assume the honor system of commercial fish tickets isn’t corrupt.”
Gnu film screens
Snowboarding film Étrange Mélange from Carlsborg-based Mervin Manufacturing’s GNU line will be screened during the The Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Education Foundation’s annual Welcome to Winter movie set Friday.
Doors open at 5 p.m. with plenty of food and drink options available for the two-hour prefunk.
At 7 p.m., a short film by Ridge local and Mervin Manufacturing video guy Tim Stanford will showcase skiing and snowboarding in the Olympics, including some rarely to maybe never-before-seen 8 milimeter film and pictures from the Deer Park Ski Area, early Ridge, up until modern-day.
A giant raffle and a small discussion on who we are and what we do. Then we will be showing the new short film from our hometown heroes at GNU Snowboards, Étrange Mélange . Enjoy the shredding of Ridge locals Temple and Cannon Cummins as they shred around the world.
Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door, $10 for youth age 18 and younger and college students with student ID.
To purchase, visit https://www.hurricaneridge.com/etrange-melange-movie/.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at sports@peninsuladaily news.com.
