CATCHING COHO IN October will once again become a reality for salmon anglers off Sekiu and Port Angeles in 2023-24 salmon fishing seasons developed by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and treaty tribal co-managers.
The biggest takeaway from the season setting announcement appears to be the non-select coho fishery set Oct. 1-15 for Marine Area 5 (Sekiu) and Marine Area 6 (Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca).
Anglers have bemoaned the lack of an October coho fishery in recent years, particularly off of Sekiu as October is known as prime time for catching Sekiu silvers as they slip through the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
“These seasons were crafted carefully to ensure conservation goals are achieved for salmon populations, especially those listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),” said Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind. “There are improvements in this season’s forecast, and we have developed a number of good fishing opportunities in Washington on healthy stocks.”
Negotiations between the department and tribes this year were guided in part by the Puget Sound Harvest Management Plan, which is expected to provide long-term fishery guidance for Puget Sound.
The National Marine Fisheries Service announced in February that the plan was sufficient to proceed with formal review.
Season recommendations now move forward for approval by the National Marine Fisheries Service and final rulemaking, including additional opportunity for public comment and consideration of those comments.
Coastal fisheries
Coast-wide, recreational anglers will have a 39,000 chinook guideline and a 159,600 marked coho quota.
Neah Bay (Marine Area 4) and La Push (Marine Area 3) will open for salmon retention beginning June 17 and the season will run through Sept. 30 or when the subarea guideline of 8,710 chinook (wild and hatchery) or the 16,600 marked coho quota are reached.
Marine Area 5 (Sekiu)
Sekiu is scheduled to open July 1 through Aug. 15 for hatchery-marked chinook and coho with a 3,906 king quota.
Marine Area 5 is open Aug. 16 to Sept. 30 for a hatchery-marked coho fishery and the Oct. 1-15 for all coho.
The 2024 winter hatchery blackmouth season will run March 1 through April 30 with a lowered king quota of 1,400 compared to 1,726 this spring.
Marine Area 6 (Eastern Strait)
Port Angeles, west of the No. 2 buoy east of Ediz Hook, is planned to open July 1 through Aug. 15 for hatchery-marked chinook and coho with a king quota of 7,258, up from 6,050 in 2022.
The area east of the of the boundary is open July 1 through Aug. 15 for hatchery-marked coho only.
All Marine Area 6 is open Aug. 16 through Sept. 30 for a hatchery-marked coho fishery and Oct. 1-15 for all coho. The Dungeness Bay coho fishery is open Oct. 16 through Nov. 30.
Marine Area 9
A summer hatchery-marked chinook and coho fishery off Port Townsend in Marine Area 9 is planned to open July 13-15 on a 4,300 chinook quota, down from 4,700 last summer.
Fish and Wildlife will assess the catch after the first weekend and decide if a reopening will occur July 20-22 and again for a July 27-29 opening.
Hatchery coho will take over is Aug. 1-Sept. 17 and open for non-select coho from Sept. 18-31.
Marine Area 12
Hood Canal south of Ayock Point (Marine Area 12) will be open for coho and hatchery chinook from July 10 to Sept. 30, coho only from Oct. 1-15, release chum.
North of Ayock Point will be open July 10 to Oct. 31 for a coho-only fishery.
Pinks a plenty
The Puget Sound pink salmon prediction is about 3.95 million and similar to the 3.77 million return in 2021. Pinks will remain part of daily catch limits in marine fisheries and limits in freshwater areas will be watershed-specific.
“We must carefully plan and implement fisheries in Puget Sound to ensure that we limit our impact on ESA-listed Puget Sound chinook to allowable levels,” said Kyle Adicks, intergovernmental salmon manager with Fish and Wildlife. “We work with the public each spring to plan fisheries that spread the limited fishing opportunity available for chinook and other species around the marine and freshwater areas of Puget Sound.”
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at mcarman@peninsula dailynews.com.
