As some of you know, I sit on the Puget Sound Sportfishing advisory board where we help WDFW design current and future fisheries rules.
I spoke with Ryan Lothrop of WDFW this morning, and he advised me the perception inside WDFW is that based upon forum posts (from other forums) and word on the water, that many people are opting to not report their catch in attempt to extend the Summer Chinook season in Puget sound.

This jeopardizes future fisheries opportunities because we cannot accurately estimate harvest and impacts on Salmon which is used to design future fisheries.
Further, the tribes read the forums too. The tribes have and will continue to use this knowledge against sportfishing interests.

Report your catch fellow anglers. There is an stipulation on your license which requires you to report all fish retained when asked. Follow the rules, and don't contribute to this problem and arm other interests with information that can be used against sportfishing interests.

Thank you
Ryley Fee

Sportsman are our own worst enemy sometimes. It really irritates me people think they are helping by reporting false information.

Thank you!

Prosecuting ANY fishery carries with it the obligation and responsibility to assess, monitor, and enforce.

If that cannot be reasonably accomplished, the fishery WILL cease to exist.

Come on folks, JUST DO IT!

Feeble attempts to outsmart the fishchecker or the agency will just bite us all in the ass. The rec community can't afford to lose any more fisheries.

I agree with accurate reporting to fish checker.


The rest has moved to-- Chinook inequities of Area 9 &10 topic

The irony in this statement is disgusting. The TRIBES are concerned about SPORTSFISHERMEN not reporting correctly?!! They should look in the mirror.

Duh me.....I thought for years that everyone turned their "punch cards in"...

During the North of Falcon process in Region 6, I learned that in the formula for fish allotment that sportsmen turn in at about the 50 % level. I also thought that if you didn't turn the card in, your didn't get a new card......wrong on that account also. I thought surely there must be a $$$$$ penalty.....nope....

Just turn the damn punch cards in.......

x1000


Reporting all of your released fish correctly is also a vital part of the stock assessment.

Not that I agree with submitting false records, but if WDFW really wanted accurate reports then they'd make it easier for people to submit the information. It's 2014 and you still want me to mail my punch card in? What a waste of resources.

Cozmo is onto something there. WDFW allows online reporting of crab but not fish. WTF!

Even if 100% of the CRC's were returned wouldn't that make some of the info a year late? As ignorant as I am about this on- line stuff, if there were an App on my I-phone, I think I could learn to enter where I fished, what I retained and, just as important, what I released. In real time yet. Is that not possible?

As long as there is a possession limit you will still need to have that paper copy. Plus, not everybody has or wants to have the ability to immediately upload.

One of the downsides of real-time reporting is that it would force WDFW to make immediate, in-season adjustments. This was tried in the early years of Boldt, where WDF tried to manage all fisheries on a daily basis. It didn't work for sports because every reg change needed to get out to the users.

Two parts to this;

1. Reporting actual fish numbers that were legally retained.

2. Reporting to the fish checker on ALL "encounters".


On point one. Since having a fish recorded on your punch card is required, and possessing fish that are not recorded can result in a fine and loss of fish, it would make sense to just report. However, the comment that the tribes "are and will continue to use the information against sport fishermen" highlights why the fisheries are in such a sad state. For a member of the WDFW staff to say something so inflammatory is unprofessional and slanderous. The problem is, that instead of working toward a more cooperative and transparent relationship with the tribes, WDFW chooses to instigate distrust and suspicion between "us and them". This is not the first time they have used this tactic to divert attention away from the real problem, which is accountability. As long as the sport fishing community feels that the tribes are taking advantage of the system, the temptation to "pay them back" will result in just the sort of thing as not reporting harvests.

On point two:
Almost everything from setting of seasons to what area's are open is driven by what is called "wild fish encounters". Because of the ESA, there are limited percentages allowed for wild fish mortality's for each specific run. For every hatchery fish caught and when you report that you caught and released a wild fish, WDFW assumes that a percentage of wild fish died as a result of that encounter. So even if you handle that fish perfectly and release it "in good condition" a percentage is still counted as killed. The higher the wild fish encounters, the less fishing allowed. This is the reasoning why WDFW increases rules to reduce these encounters. ( barbless hooks, shorter seasons, closures). The one BIG thing that they will not address is that EVERY WILD FISH CAUGHT IN A NET IS A DEAD FISH! This is the "why" some sport fishermen may not report all the "wild fish encounters" to the fish checker.
But since it is so easy to impose rules and regulations on sport fishermen because they have no cohesive group to fight for fairness, and the tribes have big money, campaign donations and unity, we will continue to see the same old thing over and over and over.

I follow the rules yet I still can't understand how Indians can take many more fish home then others and not report it. Dwindling numbers? Maybe if no one reported anything the focus would turn to those who are bringing fish in by the boatload rather than the handful.

What is a Puget Sound "wild king " anyway? I for one am tired of having to release "wild" kings in my part of the woods only to have those fish show up at the Grovers Creek fish hatchery or in a tribe net. Just last year I was watching the tribes spawn kings at the Suquamish hatchery on Grovers Creek. I was amazed at the amount of unclipped kings. When I asked a hatchery worker about that he told me they clip about 50% of their smolts prior to release. I play fair and play by the rules. I wish the tribes would do the same.

Even if you turn in your punch card, I've always wondered why it takes WDFW so long to post the yearly catch figures.
The most current catch data on the WDFW is for 2009. I can maybe see not having 2013 numbers posted yet, but you'd think 2010-2012 would be available.
SF
http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/harvest/

Speaking of yearly catch figures where can I find the tribes catch figures?

Any time there is gillnetting going on on the Chehalis you can buy fresh fish at the dock or behind Walmart. Same is true on the Queets and Quinault. At first Ave bridge on the Duwamish they will approach you offering to sell. I have never seen a creel census take place at any of these locations.

Sports fishing is just a drop in the bucket, if you need stats get them from the fisheries that take the largest share of fish.