If you sport fish these rivers you are needed to "add numbers of people and voice" next Tuesday night Montesano City Hall.

Because of the numbers of Coho returning to these systems...the Non-tribal gillnetters want a "unbelieve amount of netting time" in both Marine areas.

The only way to get the number of days, reduced and shared with "sports".....is to be there. If not, you'll be fishing "up river" but most of the fish will have been "killed and sold to the fish buyer".

REMEMBER March 20....6 - 8 P.M. This is the 1st step in a battle about who "is gets productive fishing time"

Between QIN and cowboys.....could be nets in the river most days in October........."walls of death"..........grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

We will probably be there as it is in our very busy
schedule watching it rain.

Thanks for the "heads up" drifter,

fp

Is that NoF ?

Yes it is NOF LB.

Here is what the non treaty commercials put up.

First let me give you what the NT Gill netters put forward.



HUMPTULIPS... proposed by GNer's



These are all 24 hours fishery days, with 7 1/2 mesh nets.



August...Thursday 16th,, Sunday 19th, Wednesday 22nd, Sunday 26th, Wednesday 29th,



September.... Wednesday 5th, Sunday 9th, Wednesday 12th.



October... 1st through 5th, five days, 24 hour fisheries. Monday - Friday

8th through 12th, Five day, 24 hour fisheries. Monday - Friday



November.. 6th through 9th. four days, 24 hour fisheries. Tuesday - Friday

12th through 15th, four days, 24 hour fisheries. Monday - Thursday

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



CHEHALIS.... Proposed by GNer's... All are release, through live boxes, all wild Chinook, and Chum tossed back, not through live boxes.



October.... 1st through 4th, daylight hours only.. 10 hour fisheries. 4 days.

8th through 11th, daylight hours only..10 hour fisheries. 4 days.

15th and 16th. daylight hours only, 10 hours fisheries.. 2 days.

What I see here is at least 20 days with zero net free days on the Chehalis side, including the bay. with what the Tribal fishers will be fishing..not known yet.



November... 4 days during the week of 6th - 10th. daylight hours only, 10 hour fisheries. 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th..

4 days during the week of 12th - 15th. daylight hours only, 10 hour fisheries. 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th.

I will assume they will be utilizing Coho size mesh nets. as they are willing to release wild Chinook, and Chum. They intend to take Marked Chinook in these fisheries.

wow way to many days...and then the tribe days wont be many fish after two gillnet fisheries !!!!!!!

WOW,Really.That schedule is brutal and irresponsible........Good luck,
SZ

I suppose the NT commercials figure that negotiation is going to be give and take, so they start high, expecting to get fewer days than what they initially propose. Using that strategy, the sport fishing sector should counter with zero gillnet days proposed, and then the R6 office can use Solomon's wisdom to cut the baby in half. Meanwhile the QIN schedule is whatever it is.

Sg

Will this do as a starting point, ah hell no the finished product SG? It is also has been submitted to R-6 and Mr Anderson coming up but he is aware of it already as is Mr. Scott. As to divide SG, after that unbeleiveable screw job done to the local community last year? One more time " oh hell NO " we ain't going there anymore guy. The in river fisher is going to get respect come hell or high water!

Proposed Salmon Fishing Season for Grays Harbor 2012 3 / 9 / 2012
HUMPTULIPS
As data supplied by WDFW indicates both Chinook, and Coho are in the Tier 4 bracket, we propose the following.
From the mouth, Jesses Slough, to Confluence of East, and West Fork, Humptulips.
Open Sept 1. - Nov. 30. Minimum Size 14 inches, 6 Salmon Daily. 3 Adult Salmon in daily limit, no more than two may be Chinook. No bait restrictions. Dec. 1 - Jan. 31. Release all unmarked Adult Salmon.

CHEHALIS
As data supplied by WDFW indicates Chinook in the Tier 3 bracket, and Coho in Tier 4 bracket, we propose the following changes for the 2012 bag limits for salmon.
1. Open Main Stream Chehalis River. Sept. 1 - Nov 30, from the West End of Reiney Island to Fuller Hill Bridge. 6 Salmon daily, with 4 Adult Salmon in daily limit, of which only 2 may be Chinook.
2. Fuller Hill Bridge to high bridge on Weyerhaeuser 1000 line. Open September 16 - Nov 30. 2 adults a day of which only one can be Chinook Dec.1 - Jan 31, Release all unmarked Adult Salmon.
3. Grays Harbor Bay. Open Sept 1 - Nov. 30. 6 daily, Min. size, 14 inches, 4 adult Salmon in daily bag limit of which only two can be Chinook.
4. Westport and Ocean Shores Boat Basins, Same as last year, but 1 Chinook in daily bag

* Any non treaty net fisheries for the Chehalis River be restricted to Marine area 2D and be concurrent with the tribal commercial fishery.

CHEHALIS TRIBUTARIES ADDITIONAL FISHERIES
1. Wishkah, Sept. 16 - Nov 31. 2 adults daily, only 1 unmarked Coho in daily bag, release Chinook & Chum.
2. Wynoochee. Open Sept. 16- Nov. 31, with one Adult Coho in daily bag. Mouth to Public boat launch at white bridge, release Chinook & Chum. Closed waters September 16-November 30, White Bridge to Wynoochee Dam fish trap.
3. Satsop. Sept. 16- Nov. 31, 3 Adult Salmon in daily bag of which no more than 2 marked Chinook, 1 unmarked Coho, and 1 Chum. Release Unmarked Chinook.
4. Chum retention of 1 adult a day Fuller Hill Bridge to West End Reiney Island.

Rivrguy,

Well that should be a conversation starter! I couldn't publicly advocate for those sport regs and keep a straight face, but they are certainly in league with the NT GN proposal. (Except I don't agree with that upper Wyn closure; some fishermen are still targeting summer steelhead in the early fall.)

I have another meeting next Tuesday, but I will see about attending in Monty.

Sg

Well SG if you do not have the preseason numbers yell BUT this is the thing. All paper fish will die and any proposal that does not breach the principles of protecting escapement AND maximizing the sport catch is a go. The NT Nets can go pound nails ( or anything else they care to ) as this year the average citizen will be represented. So unless you show me where this harvests into harmful territory for the fish, then the in river sports gets them.

Below is the principals we expressed to R-6.


Mr. -------,

This letter represents the concerns of a group of volunteers that is working on the issue of disparity in the allocation of the non tribal salmon fishery in the Chehalis Basin. Our proposed Chehalis Basin in-river sports season for the 2012 seasons is attached. We realize that the number of salmon available for harvest is yet to be finalized, but feel this is a valid proposal based upon current expectations of run size.

Three basic premises helped us arrive at our proposal. First, is the season setting process known as North of Falcon. WDF&W allows for some public input, but it is dominated by groups and individuals who push for particular fisheries. The average citizen who simply purchases a license and fishes with their family, does not follow this process as they have families and jobs that are priorities. What they do have a right to, is a reasonable expectation that WDF&W will look out for the average citizen and not just pander to special interest and those of means.

Second, South Monte ( West end of Rainy Island to Highway 107 Bridge ) is known as the premiere tide water fishery in Coastal Washington as it does not take a lot of skill to be successful. With a small boat or spot on the bank from Junction City downstream, rod & simple tackle, a family could go fishing with reasonable expectation of success. It is the primary reach of water in the Chehalis Basin that the average local citizen and families utilize for recreational salmon fishing and is the highest priority.

Third, any Salmon identified available for harvest to the non treaty allocation be allocated first to the recreational sport fishery from the West End of Rainy Island upstream. If additional impacts are allowable then it would be possible to add the bay sport fishery. Non treaty commercial fisheries should only be in place when they will not adversely affect the recreational fishery for the average citizen. NOF is not the correct venue for conservation issues raised by individuals and organizations regarding salmon identified available for harvest by PFMC, QIN, and WDF&W.

As we reviewed our proposal the Grays Harbor Management Plan was discussed. Even with the fact that we are still waiting for WDF&W to provide our work group information on the plan, some things are abundantly clear. The recreational fisheries are restricted by it and expected to conform to it, but this does not appear to be the case for other fisheries. Information on the WDF&W website show Chehalis Chum had a harvestable number of 700 in 2011 and no recreational harvest, yet the non tribal commercial fishery harvested 2109 and tribal fisheries 13,184. The number of Chinook available for harvest in 2011 was 817 with non tribal share being 409 and no recreational retention. You have yet to provide the non treaty commercial impact information we requested but it would appear the non tribal commercial impacts were much greater than 409 as the tribal harvest was 5104.

The uneven burden of so called conservation goals on the recreational fishery needs to be addressed, we feel our proposal does just that.

Is CCA helping with bull?

I like your letter Rivrguy.

Sg

There will be CCA members at the meetings. Look forward to seeing you at the meeting too!

fp

Here is the Commission policy on the NOF process:


POLICY DECISION

POLICY TITLE:

2011-2012 North of Falcon

POLICY NUMBER:

POL-C3608

Supersedes:

C-3608, 2009-2010

Effective Date:

February 4, 2011

Termination Date:

December 31, 2012

See Also:

POL C-3001

Approved by:

/s/ Miranda Wecker, Fish and Wildlife Commission Chair

DOWNLOAD: Signed copy of POL-C3608 (PDF)

North of Falcon Policy

This Policy will guide Department staff in considering conservation, allocation, in-season management, and monitoring issues associated with the annual, salmon fishery planning process known as “North of Falcon”. When considering management issues, Department staff will ensure that decisions are made consistent with the Department’s statutory authority, U.S. v. Washington, U.S. v. Oregon, the Endangered Species Act, the Puget Sound Chinook Harvest Management Plan, the Pacific Salmon Treaty, the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Framework Salmon Management Plan, pertinent state/tribal agreements, and the applicable Fish and Wildlife Commission policies.

The Department will implement this Policy consistent with the purposes and intended outcomes described in the 21st Century Salmon and Steelhead Planning Project including:

•WDFW shall manage salmon and steelhead to recovery and sustainability in a way that is science-based, well-documented, transparent, well-communicated, and accountable.


•Fisheries are managed to meet or exceed ESA, recovery, and conservation goals; and harvest management measures protect and promote the long-term well-being of the commercial and recreational fisheries.

Fishery Management

General
•On a statewide basis, fishing opportunities will be provided when they can be directed at healthy wild and hatchery stocks.
•Selective fishing methods and gears that maximize fishing opportunity and minimize impacts on depressed stocks will be utilized to the fullest extent possible within legal constraints of implementation and budgetary limits associated with required sampling, monitoring and enforcement programs.
•When assessed from a statewide perspective,fishing directed at chinook, coho, pink, sockeye, or chum salmon will not be exclusively reserved for either sport or commercial users.
•When managing sport fisheries, meaningful recreational fishing opportunities will be distributed equitably across fishing areas and reflect the diverse interests of fishers, including retention and catch and release fisheries.
•The Department will seek non-treaty fishing access to unutilized portions of treaty harvest allocations through the implementation of pre-season agreements, taking into consideration changes in abundance, fishery conflicts, and factors that may influence attainment of spawning escapement objectives.

Sockeye, Chum, and Pink Salmon
•For fisheries directed at Fraser River origin chum, pink, and sockeye stocks, the majority of harvest will be provided to the commercial fisheries.
•For fisheries directed at harvestable Puget Sound origin chum stocks, the majority of harvest will be provided to the commercial fisheries.
•For fisheries directed at Lake Washington sockeye, the first 200,000 non-treaty harvest will be provided to recreational fishers. If the allowable non-treaty harvest is greater than 200,000, commercial harvest directed at this stock may be considered.
•For fisheries directed at harvestable Puget Sound origin pink salmon, seasons will be established that provide meaningful opportunities for both recreational and commercial fisheries while minimizing gear and other fishery conflicts.

Chinook and Coho Salmon
•The Puget Sound harvest management objectives for chinook and coho stocks, in priority order, are to (1) provide meaningful recreational fishing opportunities, and (2) identify and provide opportunities for commercial harvest. When managing sport fisheries in this region, recreational opportunities will be distributed equitably across fishing areas, considering factors such as the: uniqueness of each area, the availability of opportunities for various species in each area throughout the season, desire to provide high levels of total recreational opportunity, and biological impacts.
•Grays Harbor harvest management objectives shall include opportunities for both the recreational and commercial fisheries.
•Columbia River harvest management regimes shall be developed in cooperation with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife representatives. Commercial and recreational fishing opportunity will be scheduled to optimize the non-treaty harvest of chinook and coho and to provide a balanced opportunity to each fleet. When developing recreational and commercial fishing options, the Department shall consider fair and reasonable catch opportunity, stability and duration of fisheries, as well as sharing of the conservation responsibility.
•Willapa Bay harvest management shall be consistent with Willapa Bay Framework management objectives. The following general intent shall apply: Willapa Bay harvest management objectives shall include meaningful opportunities for both recreational and commercial fisheries.
•Pacific Ocean harvest shall be managed consistent with the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Framework Salmon Management Plan and the National Standards that provide for fair and equitable allocation of fishing privileges among various fishers.

In-Season Management
•When in-season management actions are taken, they will be implemented in a manner that is consistent with pre-season conservation and harvest management objectives, and the fishery intent developed through the North of Falcon process.

Monitoring, Sampling and Enforcement
•Monitoring, sampling and enforcement programs will be provided to account for species and population impacts of all fisheries and to ensure compliance with state regulations.
•Fishery participants will be required to comply with fishery monitoring and evaluation programs designed to account for species and population impacts.

Gear and Fishery Conflicts
•Recreational and commercial fisheries shall be structured to minimize gear and other fishery conflicts. Unanticipated fishery interaction issues identified in-season, including conflicts with fisheries directed at other species, shall be resolved by involving the appropriate sport and commercial representatives in a dispute resolution process managed by Department staff.

Incidental Mortalities
•The Department will manage fisheries to minimize mortalities on non-target species (e.g. rockfish, sea birds, etc.). Management regimes will include strategies to limit seabird mortalities consistent with the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Communications
•The Department shall strive to make ongoing improvements for effective public involvement during the North of Falcon planning process and annual salmon fishery implementation, incorporating the following intents:

◦include North of Falcon participants as observers during appropriate state/tribal discussions of fishery issues.
◦maintain a record of all decisions made during the North of Falcon process.
◦use a variety of tools to effectively communicate with the public, receiving input on pre-season planning or in-season fishery issues, and making available the record of decisions; such tools will include use of recreational and commercial advisory groups, public workshops addressing key issues, the WDFW North of Falcon Web site, and in-season tele-conferencing.


Other Species
•The Fish and Wildlife Commission’s policy on Lower Columbia Sturgeon Management (POL-C3001) shall guide pre-season and in-season planning of Columbia River and coastal sturgeon fisheries and related incidental impacts. Management of Willapa Bay sturgeon fisheries will be further guided by Willapa Bay Framework management objectives.

Delegation of Authority
The Fish and Wildlife Commission delegates the authority to the Director to make harvest agreements with Northwest treaty tribes and other governmental agencies, and adopt permanent and emergency regulations resulting from the agreements made during the annual North of Falcon process.

Rvrguy,
The way I understand your letter is a group who does not want a name is going to try increasing sport oppurtunity in the river. This would be done by moving the commercial nets farther out into the bay and restricting bay sport oppurtunity. My question is do you think it is wise to divide the sport fishermen more than they already are? Do you think moving all the sport fishermen into the river will benifit the less skilled fishermen?

Yep, really.

Unless we get off our asses and speak up, there's a good chance they can get much of their proposal.




Sorry Riverguy, but NO!! on this reg. There's already a no bait policy in place during this time frame. That's enough. Too many summer runs around yet that need to be caught and weeded out of the system.

I do like the 1 coho opportunity in the lower section of the river though.

Eric several folks brought the Nooche issue forward as a piece of the puzzle on the Nooch. As I do not fish it I have little first hand knowledge but feed back was folks were doing the Summerrun thing but actually chasing salmon. Hard to argue for something like a Salmon season if you deny abuses. Best I can do ya.

KLB we are just a group of folks working for a fair shake for the in river or traditional fall fishery. Nothing against the bay fishery and if you had looked at the proposal it is very liberal for it. The traditional local fisheries come first after that add to it.

Rather simple.

Sounds good to me. I just like having some room to spread out. I used to just fish the traditional places but had to expand my range.

i think they should only open the bay 3 days a week..and give us more fish on the nooch

Just so we do not have a little brawl. Guys everyone that is a sporty should get in and fight for the sports. If you love the bay fishery then you have Doc and he is as good as you get and run with him! No better brain & armed to the teeth with facts. If your East County pile in and fight like hell for your fishery be it mainstream Saginaw or Porter up.

But get in the bloody damn fight. To have a quality sport fishery it will take all of us to at least get a fair shake. If you just wait and expect the system will treat you fairly then I am sorry but you are going to be disappointed.