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Calendar for May

4 South Sound General Meeting  speaker is to be Mike Silvers - Crossing the Bar

10 North Kitsap General Meeting

10 Gig Harbor General Meeting Larry Philips - American Sportfishing Association

10 Renton General Meeting 

10 Sno-King General Meeting Featuring Joey Pyburn of Outdoor Line and Rays Bait

16 Fidalgo - San Juan Islands General  Meetin

17 North Olympic Peninsula General Meeting

17 South King County General Meeting

18 Everett General Meeting

18 Bellingham General Meeting

?? Eastside General Meeting

25 Save Our Fish

Ocean Anglers General Meeting  

 Calendar for June

7 Whidbey Island General Meeting

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I hope everyone has their summer plans in order as summer is coming fast. I would like to highlight that while we have been fighting for increased hatchery production, we have 3 WDFW commissioners that are apparently not wanting to move forward with our new Comanager policy. Watch the April 8 WDFW Commission meeting on TVW and pay attention to their questions. You can quickly pick up on their thought process to see what they are thinking. Three newer commissioners (not the last ones appointed) show up and we are supposed to stop a program in process for them to catch up? If this happens every time we get new commissioners, we will get nowhere. We all sent input to them to move forward with the process. All commission votes leading up to this time since the removal of HSRG were unanimous since 2016. Not one commissioner voted, not to move forward. That is now in question. We are going to need your help when it comes time again. There is a June 9 hatchery workshop for the commission. I think they are going to use this as a question and answer period. The SEPA is being sent in to be done and then will be available for comment. Thats when we need everyone's comments. We are working with NOAA and WDFW to find more ways to increase those LCR fall chinook and stop the strays from going into the Lewis river. Production has been cut over 4 million fish at lowest of only 17 Million fish output. This is going to devastate other fisheries going forward.There is a rule in federal fish management called pHOS (proportion of hatchery fish on the spawning grounds) that came from HSRG that is still in individual river plans. When the stray rate is too high,  hatchery production is cut. We just got cut 4.8 Million Chinook on the LCR fall chinook stock! This reduces harvestable returning fish by 48,000!   

PSA has been a leader in working with others to remove HSRG from the WDFW Commission salmon policy and increase salmon hatchery production. We worked with tribes and all agencies for over 6 long years to get an additional 23.9 million more salmon made for the Orcas and us fishers, in 2022. We can make as many hatchery fish as we want, as long as we catch them. If we cannot catch them then we cannot make them.  PSA’s chapters have net pens and programs raising fish for all to catch.

PSA has put in so much time getting our hatchery production back. We need to open the thought process that we do not have the habitat anymore to support these giant runs of fish. Most people haven't made the connection on the importance of the Lower Columbia River Fall Chinook contribution to all fisheries. These particular kings are the ones mostly caught in the ocean. When these fish are not doing well, the ocean fishery tanks. The fishers and predators move up to Swiftsure Bank at Neah Bay and intercept the Puget Sound bound chinook, where they hold up one more time to feed. Neah Bay and Sekiu fill up with sport boats to go after them. They take a huge chunk of these PS schools first. Then as the fish move towards the Puget Sound they follow them in. In the end they move to the Puget Sound going after them again. How long will the Puget Sound seasons and how much pressure can our Chinook stocks last with this added additional pressure? I brought this up to the Anacortes Chapter with a meeting we had. They had no idea and now understand that we cannot allow any cuts to any hatchery production and have to educate others to this. The large estuaries on the US West coast are at an 85% loss per NOAA. The Columbia River is at 74%. Our salmon fisheries are intertwined. 

Its very important that we keep all fisheries open to keep our sportfishers in their respective areas and not all move to the same fishery. Just like only opening MA 10 for winter blackmouth. It cant take the pressure of being the only game in town. 

The new Deschutes hatchery just had a lawsuit dropped on it by Washington Wildlife First. We wrote a support letter to 147 legislators to fund this hatchery construction as the senate and Governor had already supported it. Last but not least w were successful in working with Cantwell's office to secure $400 million to increase hatchery production. This wasn't done overnight but takes years of work to get to this level. We need to let that money do its work. What we do is very complicated but the bottom line is we all need to get more fishing back. I hope you have a great fishing season and join your local PSA Chapter..

Ron Garner President PSA    

Point Nopoint Fiasco

Pod cast on Ocra Whales with Butch Smith from Coho Charters   

Article on Salmon and Dams    

Protecting Washington’s Yelloweye Rockfish

Rockfish Identification Flyer    

Video - Rockfish are back!!

Did you know that some yelloweye rockfish that are here today were Washington residents before it became a state in 1889? They have been and continue to be an important part of our heritage.

Halibut and bottomfish fishing have also been a part of Washington’s culture for hundreds of years. Many generations of fishermen have relied on halibut and bottomfish for food and recreation.

Fishery Management

A recent stock assessment indicates that the yelloweye rockfish population has declined over 80% from its initial level.  As a result, immediate action must be taken if the stocks of these long-lived fish are to be rebuilt. 

To rebuild yelloweye rockfish populations, the harvest opportunities for this species must be severely curtailed.  In recent years, the Pacific Fishery Management Council has set yelloweye rockfish harvest levels for all commercial, recreational, and tribal fisheries combined for California, Oregon, and Washington of about 17 metric tons (mt). This number includes yelloweye rockfish that are discarded at sea.

The Washington recreational harvest target is about 2.7 mt (fewer than 1,000 fish) in coastal waters.  To put this in perspective, in 2001, the Washington recreational fishery harvested 15 mt.

Halibut Fishery in Jeopardy

Yelloweye rockfish, in general, are harvested during the Washington recreational halibut fishery.  If the yelloweye rockfish catch is projected to exceed 2.7 mt, then Pacific ocean waters adjacent to Washington outside 25 fathoms will be closed to recreational bottomfish fishing (including halibut). 

If yelloweye rockfish cannot be avoided when anglers are targeting halibut, then we may have to close recreational halibut fishing in the future to protect yelloweye rockfish.  Because the yelloweye rockfish stock may not be rebuilt for over 100 years, the problem of managing the yelloweye fishery will continue through our lifetime; however, you have the ability to help save the halibut fishery now and preserve the yelloweye resource for the future.

Yelloweye Rockfish Facts:

·         Live to be 120 years old

·         Range extends from Mexico to Alaska

·         Found in deeper, rocky bottom areas

·         Slow growing,low productive species

·         Reddish-orange in color with bright yelloweye

·         Commonly called "red snapper"

·         Often spend their entire lifetime on one rockpile

How You Can Help

·         If you are participating in the recreational halibut or bottomfish fishery, please avoid areas that are known to have yelloweye rockfish.

·         If you do accidentally catch a yelloweye, please return to the water s soon as possible.

·         Help spread the word to others about the severity of the yelloweye rockfish depleted population and the possible consequences of not avoiding yelloweye areas

·         If you do not know what areas may have yelloweye rockfish, please consult a local resort, motel, or charter office or other expert before fishing

Great rockfish recompression video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiZFghwVOyI

PSA State Board Meeting

Saturday

Start Time is 9:00am

State board meeting will be Zoom Mtg

Port Of Edmonds Administration Office rear of building at the top of stairs

336 Admiral Way

Edmonds, WA 98020

Future meetings

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