Westport anglers probably will get shorter salmon seasons — and fewer fish to catch — as coho salmon runs into the Columbia River are struggling

Puget Sound anglers will see plenty of hatchery chinook salmon, but might have a shorter season — mostly to protect wild chinook salmon that swim with hatchery fish and are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Lake Washington probably will not have a sockeye salmon season this year.

Anglers landed a mixed bag of...Continued@URL...
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/379170.html

"Continuing tough times for wild Puget Sound chinook salmon — and a proposed budget from the Legislature that would cut money to develop and monitor selective fishing for hatchery fish — could mean less selective fishing for hatchery salmon in Puget Sound this year, said Pat Pattillo, Fish and Wildlife salmon policy coordinator.

Puget Sound anglers fishing in Area 13 — South Puget Sound — fished for hatchery chinook all summer in 2007.

Selective fisheries can happen if wild fish — which must be released unharmed — don't show a spike in deaths after release, Pattillo said."


Sounds like the big push for selective fishing is gonna turn around and bite sportfishers in the rear with less opportunity to fish.

It is evident that Sportsfishing is not a high priority of our "beloved" legislature.
We are getting 70IK fewer triploids this year than last year. I wish they'd have paid attention to Economics 101.

Release mortality by sport anglers is still lower than gill nets. Selective fishing rules should allow us more time on the water since the desire is to remove as many hatchery fish as possible (allowing for adequate returns to the hatcheries for egg take) to keep them from spawning naturally.