It was really hot at Sekiu a few years back and guys were catching and releasing 20 wild fish to get their 2 hatchery fish. We saw atleast half a dozen fish injured swimming on the surface and some belly up, so I email the state on the issue and this was their response. My thought was make a size limit of 24" and daily catch of 3 then get off the water.

Thank you for your email correspondence to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Fish Program.

The selective coho fishery at Sekiu is designed to harvest hatchery coho while protecting weak coho stocks that cannot sustain the same level of harvest and are in need of additional protection. For the last several years one of the main stocks in need of protection is a stock of coho from the upper Fraser River in British Columbia. This particular stock, Thompson River coho, has been severely depressed in recent years, much like our Puget Sound chinook salmon. Canada and the United States manage salmon based on the Pacific Salmon Treaty. Under that treaty, Canadian catches of Washington fish have been reduced to help recover our weak stocks, and Washington catches of British Columbia fish have been reduced to help recover their weak stocks. In this case, we have agreed to manage Washington fisheries so that we harvest or kill no more than 10% of the forecasted Thompson River coho. The Area 5 fisheries account for the largest share of the U.S. non-tribal impact to Thompson River coho. The impact is based on a 12% mortality rate on sport caught and released coho. That is, one in every 8.3 coho caught and released will die. This value was derived from a number of mortality studies that have been conducted in marine waters and was reviewed and adopted by a group of State and Tribal biologists. Certainly, the actual mortality is variable but the rate of mortality you report seems unusually high. In my personal experience, the proper handling of fish can make a big difference in the release mortality. Our season long monitoring at Sekiu this year shows that approximately 60% to 70% of the coho encountered by anglers were unmarked, which is far different than the 1 in 7 you observed. We do see that the mark rate can be quite variable at times but we must look at the overall average. Based on the accepted mortality rate and observed encounter rates in the fishery, a lot fewer unmarked fish, and specifically, less Thompson River coho would be killed under the current selective fishery than if we allowed both marked and unmarked coho to be harvested given the same season length.

Alternatively to the selective fishery, we could allow any two coho to be harvested as you suggest. Under this scenario, our season would be reduced to less than 30 days, depending on the time we started. So if we started July 1st, we would have to close the fishery before the end of the month. Because the catch rate is much higher in August and September, we might have 3 weeks or less of fishing if we opened August 1st or September 1st. In each of these alternative scenarios, the total summer salmon season would need to be conducted. That is, we would not be able to have our month long chinook selective fishery followed by a month long coho fishery. They would have to occur at the same time. Therefore the season would be reduced from a three month season to a month or less.

Each year, WDFW conducts public meetings to help shape our salmon fisheries while meeting our obligations to the Northwest treaty tribes, Endangered Species Act constraints, and the Pacific Salmon Treaty. We call this process "North of Falcon". The North of Falcon process begins in February and runs through early April each year. During these meetings, the folks who have attended have advocated for the current three month long selective coho fishery scenario rather than the alternative fisheries which would result in a summer fishery less than 30 days. However, if there is a clear consensus from most folks that they prefer the shorter seasons, we would consider them. If you would like to participate in the North of Falcon process and voice your support for the any coho, shorter season scenario, we welcome your input. Deb Kuttel is our coordinator for distribution of meeting locations and times. You can contact Deb at (360) 902-2819 and ask her to put you on the mailing list, or alternatively, email us back and ask to be put on the North of Falcon mailing list.

Thank you for your concern for Washington's resources. We appreciate the great care you use when releasing fish and encourage you to continue to do so. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact Steve Thiesfeld, Puget Sound Recreational Salmon Fisheries Manager at (360) 902-2715.