In a nutshell the new CR102 REDUCES commercial time from 14 days spread over the entire Hump/Chehalis estuary using std gillnet mesh and condenses the fishery to 7 days prosecuted ENTIRELY on the Chehalis side with small mesh "tangle" nets.

The old schedule which was approved at NOF on March 29 was as follows

Five 24-hr days in 2C (Hump estuary) on Aug 20, 24, 28, 30, and Sept 6.

Eight 12-hr days in 2A/2D (Chehalis estuary) on Oct 1, 2, 12, 14, 19, 20, 22, 24.

One 24-hr day in 2A/2D on Oct 21

...


The new revised schedule submitted in the CR102 yesterday reflects a recalculation of the assigned tangle net mortality for this fishery. With a bit of pressure WDFW was persuaded to increase the release mortality by an additional 67% compared to that proposed on Mar 29 at NOF. That recalculation logically increased commercial chinook impact by 67% resulting in a massive scale-back of the original GH gillnet schedule above.

The new and improved schedule is as follows:

Seven 12-hr days in 2A/2D on Oct 7, 8, 14, 22, 24, 29, 30.

Note that the final opener on Oct 30 allows them to fish an expanded area for the entirety of 2D (all the way west to the marker at the mouth of Johns River)
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"Let every angler who loves to fish think what it would mean to him to find the fish were gone." (Zane Grey)

"If you don't kill them, they will spawn." (Carcassman)


The Keen Eye MD
Long Live the Kings!