Eyefish

The are a number of area in which the Skagit and the management of its steelhead differ from that which you are familiar with on the OP.

First while the MSY escapement level is the touch stone for management the difference on the Skagit is that its escapement goal has a substantial buffer. Best estimates of Skagit MSY is something in the 3,000 to 4,000 range (depending on the time series used). The basin goal is 6,000 or 150 to 200% of MSY levels. While it still is not known what the approved fishing levels will be as a Skagit specific plan is developed most assume it will be at least as conservative as what was in place pre-2010. At that time not only was there a buffered escapement goal there was a cap on the total exploitation on the wild run.

What that cap meant was that on large runs the run was not fished down to the escapement goal. For most of the last 20 years that exploitation cap rate was 16%. On a large run say 10,000 the managers instead of fishing down to the escapement goal of 6,000 the total impacts were limited so that at a run of 10,000 the management expected to produce an escapement of 8,400.

In short with a buffered escapement goal and the cap on the total allowed impact rates the wild steelhead regardless of run size would be allowed to demonstrate what it can do.

In additionally unlike on the Fork area rivers the season on the Skagit does not carry well into the spawning season. Again pre-2010 the CnR season ended the end of April well before the peak of the wild winter steelhead (mid-May). Finally the traditional spring Skagit/Sauk CnR season covered only approximately 25% of the 290 miles of steelhead spawning habitat found in the basin.

In short for decades the Skagit/Sauk steelhead have been one of most conservatively managed wild winter steelhead populations in the State. Perhaps the only real danger with re-establishing the Skagit/Sauk CnR season is that folks might expect such conservative management elsewhere in the state.

Curt