the problem with the king quota was the huge number of boats during the opener. the fish checkers do not have the ability to count every boat when the numbers are 500-800 boats. they count the number of boats going out and apply a certain number of fish per boat based on statistics and their sampling. yes, it sometimes sucks (there are perceived problems every halibut season at neah bay based on the sampling).

i don't know if sekiu will get another king season. the biggest king runs are on the coast including the really large run to the columbia this spring and fall. puget sound still has listed stocks, so it's anyone's guess what will happen this summer. coho are also tight due to some low runs in a couple puget sound/hood canal rivers and the thompson river stock in BC. the likelyhood of similar seasons to last year are getting slimmer everywhere on the coast and strait.

my guess is a later opening than last year... maybe some kings but likely a smaller quota than last year, and the coho season will be wild-release the entire season. i would bet money that coho will be open in august and throughout september.

we'll all have a better idea after the north of falcon meeting tomorrow in portland and the meeting at sea-tac april 2nd.

i agree that more people need to become involved in the north of falcon process. this is only my second year going, and it has been interesting, frustrating, educational, and at times comical... but you will learn a lot about the intricacies of how our seasons are set and how complicated it can be (especially in year's like this one).

chris