NEWS RELEASE
Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/

November 4, 2013
Contact: Commission Office, 360-902-2267

Commission will discuss policy for Grays Harbor salmon fishery

OLYMPIA - The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will accept public comments on the proposed development of a new policy for managing salmon fisheries in Grays Harbor during a meeting scheduled Nov. 8-9 in Olympia.

Also at the two-day meeting, the public will also have an opportunity to comment on proposed new rules for commercial dive fisheries and plans by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to purchase lands for wildlife conservation in Kittitas and Yakima counties.

The commission, a nine-member citizen panel appointed by the Governor to set policy for WDFW, will convene at 8:30 a.m. both days in Room 172 of the Natural Resources Building, 1111 Washington St. S.E., Olympia. An agenda for the meeting is available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/meetings.html .

State fishery managers have proposed developing a new Grays Harbor salmon management policy to meet spawning goals for wild salmon returning to the basin and give sport and commercial fishers a clearer picture of what fishing opportunities they can expect each year.

A number of public workshops are scheduled on the proposed policy through mid-January. Information about those workshops is available at http://goo.gl/kLCLi6 .

In other business, the commission will consider a proposed rule for commercial dive fisheries that would prohibit the use of certain types of fishing gear aboard commercial vessels to make it more difficult to harvest geoduck clams illegally. Another proposal asks the commission to delegate the responsibility of setting sea urchin size limits to WDFW, so managers can respond more quickly to changing conditions.

The proposed land acquisition in Kittitas County involves 5,497 acres adjacent to WDFW's L.T. Murray Wildlife Area, 35 miles northwest of Yakima. The department has also proposed purchasing a 589-acre inholding in the Wenas Wildlife Area near WDFW's winter feeding area for elk.

Other topics on the commission's agenda include a briefing on proposed changes in WDFW's hydraulic permit approval rules and a status report on the state's reptile and amphibians populations.



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12. Grays Harbor Salmon Management – Briefing & Public Hearing
Department staff will brief the Commission on Grays Harbor salmon fishery management and challenges, followed by a panel discussion on Grays Harbor salmon issues. Staff is seeking direction from the Commission on Grays Harbor Salmon Management Policy sideboards.

Staff Report: Ron Warren, Region 6 Fish Program Manager

PUBLIC INPUT (This item only)

Sat Nov 9... first agenda item of business at 9 am. Will start sooner depending on how much new (non-GH) open public input happens at 8:30.

If only one or two folks testify at 8:30 for general public input, they move immediately to the GH discussion with its own block of dedicated public input time.

I believe this is a VERY important public meeting. Be there if you care.

Commission needs to hear from Joe Q Public that :

1) Sportfishing is BIG business in WA state. Rec fishing in GH is important to the economic base of the region and a rec priority (esp at smaller run sizes) is the way to gain maximum socio-economic benefit for the citizens of WA from a limited natural resource.

2) Indiscriminate gillnetting puts a stranglehold on our ability to meet the basin's conservation objectives, esp for chronically under-escaped Chehalis River fall chinook. If an economically viable commercial fishery is to exist at all in this basin, selective LIVE-CAPTURE techniques are the key to ensuring that conservation objectives for non-target stocks will be met. It's long past time to abandon archaic commercial gear-type intended to mortally snare/entangle a largely lifeless catch in favor of fishing gear meant to corral/contain a LIVE free-swimming catch in a viable and vigorous condition. The commission must LEAD the agency in making this transition as expeditiously as humanly possible.

3) The commission must demand intellectual honesty and accountability in the run-size and harvest models. Far too often, the preseason run-size comes up short of the model's prediction. Moreover, the fishing power of the fleet is horribly and predictably understated by the preseason harvest model. It's no wonder the post-season bottom line shows a chronic and recurring deficit of fish on the gravel. The run-size forecast MUST be buffered to account for the historic uncertainty in the agency's inability to accurately predict how many fish will show. Similarly, the harvest model MUST be adjusted to reflect the true real-time fishing power of the modern-day fleet.

bump

bump .................... again.

Will see you guys Sat morning.

I usually don't testify, but this time is an exception. I would hope the commission may decide that WDFW needs to have a document describing just how & what goes into the preseason salmon forecasts.

This is probably the last year I volunteer to help teach Aquatic Education at my local Schools.

Roll call... come on boys, who else is gonna be there?


eyeFISH
Rivrguy
Salmo g
SoftBite
TheMachinist
FleaFlicker

Copy into your reply and add your name to the list

Roll call... come on boys, who else is gonna be there?


eyeFISH
Rivrguy
Salmo g
SoftBite
TheMachinist
FleaFlicker
DrifterWA

Copy into your reply and add your name to the list

Thanks to all that attend these meetings, wish I could be there. The Harboer Boys crew will be helping to save our resource by spending our time broodstocking at Satsop Springs on Sat. The hatchery personal need help so if any one has a few hours they would like to donate in the next few weeks please contact them.
Kevin Beerbower

Roll call... come on boys, who else is gonna be there?


eyeFISH
Rivrguy
Salmo g
SoftBite
TheMachinist
FleaFlicker
DrifterWA
Bob R (and wife)
Copy into your reply and add your name to the list

I went to yesterday's meeting and spoke. 3 minutes isn't much time, didn't think I'd make it today so spoke on Gray's Harbor yesterday, but
decided to speak both days and Melanie wanted to speak as well.We'll see you there. Bob R

I'm stuck at work. Looking forward to updates and comments.

Sorry my bad... I knew softbite had an out of town commitment. DrifterWA woke up ill.... Hope you feel better soon.

Staff presentation done. Panel discussion w 2 recs and one commercial (retired) the other comm guy no showed cause fishing is too good at willapa bay.

Public testimony going now

Machinist looking for transparency in data... Lots of unused habitat and freshly recruited gravel FOR EXCELLENT CHINOOK SPAWNING with NO FISH getting there.

Fleaflkr... Conservation first... Maximize socioeconomic value of the fishery

Rob and mrs Rob... Forecast accuracy, in season adjustment... Upstream communities not getting a fair shake. Fish are a LOCAL treasure... Let's manage our share for we the public, limit commercial take, I WORK 4 days a week I fish 3 I'm not fishing today cuz I'm here talking to you.

CCA rep... Economic analysis favors rec priority, current allocation really doesn't make sense

Spend 7 bucks to manage a fishery that returns $1 ???

Sorry friends; I've been sick that past couple days and not feeling any better today. GDITMMM.

Commission questions to staff...

Wecker ... Why aren't we meeting conservation goals? How do we change that.

Kehne ... Conservation first... Allocation takes a back seat. Economics should weigh heavily in that equation

Kehoe.... Why come to us now? What's broken with current "policy"

Anderson.... Laying out history of GH management 'policy' (none currently). 'The time is now' to put it together

Sorry I couldn't make it.........went to bed, chills.....never got out of bed until after 8:00.........long time since I was in bed past 5 a.m.

Hope the 4 days nets, 3 days no nets.....at least get's talked about?

Now that 4 days of nets includes QIN....

I didn't realize until I re-looked at schedule.....that the NT's are netting 24 hours...........wow, what a killer of spawning and sport catch up river........Phil Anderson, no friend of Sports..........grrrrrrrrrrrrr

Wecker... Stressing transparency in data/process. Concerned about moving goal post after NOF 'final' decisions made

Smith.. Economic argument a recurring theme but the issue is more than a cost/benefit analysis. Conservation and science comes first.

Thanks for the real time updates. Have you said your piece?