Seems that the Non-Tribal Kommies have a Non-Tribal Kommie season 10/1 - 10/15 in the Sound and Strait, annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd nary a word regarding the Sports Crabby Top Priority (Per W&F Commission) Winter Season. That rates a Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Is it He-Who-Shall-Remain-Nameless (and Clueless) toooooooooo busy to make the announcement or (more than likely) got a tad confused regarding Who's On First for any Season crab prioritization that the F&W Commission articulated??? I smell a Kommie Rat Fart here folks

(on edit:) I Betcha He-Who-Shall-Remain-Nameless/Clueless is busy working on correcting that math impair spreadsheet he present to the State PSA Board Meeting last FEBURARY, yah Thunk????

That is what the commercial guys that I ran into out in Area 7 at the end of september said (they were recreational fishing with their commercial boat), something to the affect that they only got a two week season cause the sporties took too much crab this year. Something about only being 100,000lbs left or something.

I see we get shafted this year in A-10.... Think they would give a refund..... Somehow I doubt it....

and yet AuntyM's Fairhaired He-Who-Shall-Remain-Nameless (and Clueless) Boy Child still has a YOB at WDFW Yo M, that citizen shellfish advisory committee have a meeting lately????

oh, I still have NOT seen that corrected Scofflaw Spreadsheet Our Math Impaired Nitwit said he would correct and present again.

Several areas of Puget Sound reopen Oct. 8
for late-season crab fishing

OLYMPIA – Seven marine areas of Puget Sound will reopen for recreational crab fishing Oct. 8, while two others will reopen Nov. 21, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.

The openings were approved by fishery managers after summer catch assessments by WDFW indicated more crab are available for harvest, said Rich Childers, shellfish policy coordinator for the department.

Waters reopening to sport crabbing Oct. 8 at 8 a.m. include marine areas 4 (Neah Bay), 5 (Sekiu), 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), 7 (San Juan Islands), 8-1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island, and Skagit Bay), 8-2 (Port Susan and Port Gardner), and a portion of Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) north of a line that extends from Olele Point to Foulweather Bluff.

Marine areas 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island) and 13 (South Puget Sound) will reopen for sport crabbing at 8 a.m. on Nov. 21.

In each area, crabbing will be allowed seven days a week through Dec. 31.

Sport crabbing will not reopen this year in marine areas 10 (Seattle/Bremerton Area), 12 (Hood Canal) and the portion of marine area 9 south of line that extends from Olele Point to Foulweather Bluff. The annual quotas in those areas were reached during the summer fishery, said Childers.

The daily catch limit in Puget Sound is five Dungeness crab, males only, in hard-shell condition with a minimum carapace width of 6¼ inches. In addition, fishers may catch six red rock crab of either sex per day, provided those crab measure at least 5 inches across. Additional information is available on the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/crab/ .

All crab caught in the late-season fishery should be recorded on winter catch cards, which are valid until Dec. 31. Winter cards are available at license vendors across the state. Those catch reports are due to WDFW by Feb. 1, 2012. For more information on catch record cards, visit WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/crab/crc.html .


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Looks Like I got him off of his Clueless & Math Impaired Azz That announcement was NOT on the WDFW Website before I Posted (I did Check!!!)

From what I heard unofficially the other day. The cost of enforcement is going to cut into our future seasons. Cuts mean shorter season. So thats fine as long as it does not revert back to the commercials. A little compound mating never hurt the population. There is still some violation rates in the North ? end the dept is not happy with.

MA6 in sweet didnt think we would get a season this winter and we get a longer one to boot.

And lettus not forget, that $10 Scofflaw Fine was supposed to fund 3 FTE based upon a estimated $1,340,000 revenue projection per year. "Was Supposed" buy 2 FTE Statisticians & 1 FTE LEO or did that Math Impairment Thingie Kick In again????? anybody see those FTE hanging around WDFW OverheadQuarters?????


And, the Governess in all her glory was bragging the other day that New SuperOverhead Conglomeration Agency was off the ground, and If I remember correctly IT was a part of the bargain saving all our tax bucks. Along that line of musing, does another know if any or all of WDFW's 104 IT FTE went to the new agency. If so, it just MIGHT drop the WDFW FTE Overhead Rate from 63% down to less than 60%.

because we're already paying extra for it. ------AM

Thats a line that we have been hearing more of lately!


Fishy

Several areas of Puget Sound reopen
Oct. 8 for late-season crab fishing


OLYMPIA – Seven marine areas of Puget Sound will reopen for recreational crab fishing Oct. 8, while two others will reopen Nov. 21, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.

The openings were approved by fishery managers after summer catch assessments by WDFW indicated more crab are available for harvest, said Rich Childers, shellfish policy coordinator for the department.

Waters reopening to sport crabbing Oct. 8 at 8 a.m. include marine areas 4 (Neah Bay), 5 (Sekiu), 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), 7 (San Juan Islands), 8-1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island, and Skagit Bay), 8-2 (Port Susan and Port Gardner), and a portion of Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) north of a line that extends from Olele Point to Foulweather Bluff.

Marine areas 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island) and 13 (South Puget Sound) will reopen for sport crabbing at 8 a.m. on Nov. 21.

In each area, crabbing will be allowed seven days a week through Dec. 31.

Sport crabbing will not reopen this year in marine areas 10 (Seattle/Bremerton Area), 12 (Hood Canal) and the portion of marine area 9 south of line that extends from Olele Point to Foulweather Bluff. The annual quotas in those areas were reached during the summer fishery, said Childers.

The daily catch limit in Puget Sound is five Dungeness crab, males only, in hard-shell condition with a minimum carapace width of 6¼ inches. In addition, fishers may catch six red rock crab of either sex per day, provided those crab measure at least 5 inches across. Additional information is available on the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/crab/.

All crab caught in the late-season fishery should be recorded on winter catch cards, which are valid until Dec. 31. Winter cards are available at license vendors across the state. Those catch reports are due to WDFW by Feb. 1, 2012. For more information on catch record cards, visit WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/crab/crc.html.

Damn, no winter season for us in area 10.

Yiippeeee!!! Sucks about the Hood Canal though. Love crabbing over there in the winter.

So is all of 8-2 open or just those to locations?

This is great news and will greatly enhance winter blackmouth trips.

Thanks to those of you who worked hard on the re-allocation. Appreciate it!

I agree. The MA 12 crab were full late in the season. Now we have to wait until July '12?

Sorry I am a bit late in jumping in here; just back into town.

When the non-tribal commercial season was first announced during the last week of Sept. the 1 October opener did not include MA 2E which remained closed pending negotiations with the tribe(s) to increase the total allowable harvest (as specifically stated in the official posting).

Now I read that the non-tribal commercial season in 2E is closing on 15 October. (http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/commercial/crab/pugetsound/) That seems to imply that those negotiations were successful.

So the question in my mind is how much did WDFW agree to boost the total harvest (tribal plus State) in 2E to provide enough head room for there to be a non-tribal commercial opener in that area?

And does that action meet the often stated (Childers, Anderson, et al) approach for this first year's (new policy) season setting to be done conservatively? At face value I can't see them meeting that test at least in 2E.

And for the other areas we should be asking the Commission how WDFW was able in late Sept to announce commercial openers for 1 Oct when the recreational harvest had not been tabulated and the winter recreational season put off until 8 Oct on the pretext of needing the summer harvest data. This simply does not pass the whiff test.

Not even close to passing. Not even close.

Well let's bump this one back to the top just so we can keep a better eye on it. Any News????? Any Tribal Settlement to keep quiet and not embarass the Governess????

Although we'll get a double-check when the numbers are in at the end of the year, to date the new crab policy appears to have been implemented properly by Childers and the folks in the Shellfish Department. A group of folks from CCA and PSA who work a lot more than they post kept in very regular communication with the Department about the Oct 1 date and the commercial and recreational opener.

Expectations were met. Areas from MA 10 south that did not re-open, or that opened on curtailed schedules, did so because the Recreational crabbers caught all, or near all, of that State Share for each area during the Summer. Non-tribal commercial crabbing is not allowed from MA 10 south.

Based on returned and reported recreational cards the Dept. determined that there was sufficient crab for a condensed commercial season in areas north of MA 10. Those boats went out with half the pots otherwise allowed by their permits. The Department monitored daily commercial catch reports to ensure the commercial harvest was in accordance with projections (something sportfishing advocates worried about and noted to the Department). With the execption of the little piece of MA 9 above Hood Canal, in every Marine Area in which non-tribal commercials were afforded an opportunity to crab, recreational anglers were guaranteed a full winter season from early October through the end of the year--just as provided in the new Commission policy.

And of course on October 8, portions of Puget Sound that have not seen a winter season in a very long time (and others that have) opened to recreational harvest seven days a week. That is a significant increase in opporunity for many recreational crabbers. At the very least, it's a nice hedge on coming home with dinner from a winter blackmouth trip.

This is a win. The Commission showed courage in righting an unjust allocation. The WA AG's Office defended the commercial crab injunction and underlying lawsuit against the Commission's policy and won, twice. Through it all, while dealing with budget cuts and public disclosure act requests from the commercials, the Department kept its focus and implemented the first season of the new crab policy in a reasonable and upstanding manner. There is no scandal here, and it's sort of pathetic to keep trying desparately to find one. This went well because a lot of people (in government and out of governement) worked hard, for a long time, to make it happen.

Not a slam. Just a reminder that things get done because people work, not because they take pot shots on a website. I know you spend a good deal of time on this issue and have been instrumental in bringing about change as a recreational crab advisor. I suspect that you've seen the best and worst of the Department. I think it is fair to acknowledge, however, that things are moving in a positive direction. Although not associated with any branch of WA Gov, I also felt obliged to acknowledge the good work of employees and volunteers associated with the F&W Commission, the Attorney General's Office and the Department. With regard to implementation of the new crab policy in 2011 - they deserve no criticism.