Nisqually River will not open to fishing for gamefish Dec. 1


Reason for action: Based on current run estimates, WDFW and tribal co-managers agree that winter chum salmon returns will fall short of conservation goals. Keeping the river closed to all fishing will increase the number of chum returning to spawn and help ensure future returns.

Other information: In order to achieve our shared conservation goals, the Nisqually Tribe is closing their fisheries on the Nisqually River as well.

The Nisq used to be a great chum fishery. Very abundant throughout the river, great spawning success and healthy, big fish....

I never recall any excessive pressure and the habitat has remained pretty consistent with the reservation on one side and Ft. Lewis on the other.

Wonder what the deal is with the crash in population?

Lots of seals and sea lions in the lower Nisqually during the chum run. In years past, when you could walk the riverbank almost to the mouth, we would see the chum being chased, caught and consumed by the pinnipeds. A tribal member told me they had counted two hundred marine mammals in the lower river during their fishing season. Along with the nets, that's quite a gauntlet for the fish to pass through on their way to the spawning gravel.

"excessive pressure" occurs when the spawning population is reduced to too low a level. That rate may not be very high. If the run is declining then there are too few spawners. It can be predators, fishing, changes in the ocean.

Right now, fishing seems to be the only part of the equation we are willing to even consider doing something about. Sad.

Among many other conditions, IMO it is all the T/NT commercial chum fisheries in the sound wiping them out before the reach the "safety" of the Nisqually.

Nisqually chum are a winter stock. Unless things have changed a bunch the only meaningful harvest is in the Nisqually River by the Tribe and recs.

I think all the PS chum salmon stocks outside of Hood Canal are fairing poorly in recent years. Over fishing probably occurred on some of the stocks during some years, but overall that doesn't appear to be the proximate cause of low returns. Nisqually chum are the latest timed run in PS. They have historically evaded the commercial chum net fisheries in Areas 9 and 10 in the northern PS. I cannot pin point any single cause, so I suspect it may be several factors in combination.

Let's review what we know.

This spring as part of the NOF process the co-managers released a winter chum (Nisqually) forecast of 23,000. According to WDFW's score page the escapement goal for those winter chums on odd years is 18,000. Both the south Puget Sound and Hood Canal fall chum runs had in season updates that nearly doubled the forecasted numbers.

Questions that come to mind is what information do the co-managers have to indicate that the winter chum run will be below escapement needs? Has as Sky-Guy suggests were significant numbers of those chum intercepted in other fisheries? Given recent lack of transparency in manage actions the last several years we are not likely to know the answers to those questions for sometime.

However perhaps the larger concerning issue is that closing game fish seasons on the Nisqually due to the lack of harvestable is just another example of new co-manager management paradigm of closing any game fishery on anadromous waters where there are not harvestable salmon. This has been an issue on the Skagit and Stillaguamish and in the last few months there are several examples of that paradigm spreading. These game fish closures effect not only robust wild populations but also fisheries directed at hatchery steelhead (both summers and winters). This does not bode well for those have enjoy various anadromous game fish seasons on Puget Sound rivers.

Curt

Yes, It's spreading even though the science supports keeping it open. Further, the fact that it is spreading is another symptom of our Departments failed strategy of "Cooperate and wait". They refuse to take a stand even on the smallest of issues in fear.

Things are indeed spiraling further and further out of control, yet all we hear and see from the Department is vague half truths if we hear anything. Their overuse of emergency notices is an attempt to manage a fishery that they no longer control. They closed Chum fishing from the start, yet left game fish on the book, open. Then, all of a sudden, another emergency notice, game fish closed. Reason, not enough Chum! If it weren't such a train wreck, it would almost be funny! Question is: Who's running the Department anyway?

I can't believe how fast the Chum run declined on the Sky. Just 10 years ago it was pretty healthy, though it seemed. Nothing like a Chum fight, those bastids would flat kick your a$$.

Chum seem to respond to broad oceanic cycles that are relatively independent of fisheries. The 69s and 70s were times of low abundance/productivity. This changed in the 80s/90s to abundance and higher productivity. We appear to be back into a low productivity regime. It is critical that managers have the institutional memory to evaluate these long-term cycles and then respond.

Piggy-backed onto this has been the explosion of pinks, and PS pinks have been known to depress PS chum. Couple this with water quality issues on the Sound, high changes in the ocean (the Blob) and I suspect there is too much information available for mangers to process in a timely fashion. Management would need to be significantly more conservative and that won't happen.

Pretty sure the skykomish chums got knocked out from nets. This is the first year since they disappeared that I've seen any numbers of them though, not a lot but it seems like they're on the upswing.

even with the breeching of the man made levies in the delta area have failed to help that fishery I do like the wetlands there now

While the levees were breeched they didn't magically become desirable habitat. The former freshwater/terrestrial forms need to die and decompose, the marine and estuarial forms need to invade, establish, and form new ecosystems.

It will probably take 5-10 years for the estuary to establish and begin to fully function. Say that this year, 2017, the new area hit 100% super functionality. First chum to benefit will be 2017 brood when they invade as fry. The first adults to have that benefit will be the 2020 age-3s.

I want to see Capitol Lake turned back into a natural estuary. That should be a nice habitat "shot in the arm" for the South Sound.

For some reason, most people in Oly prefer that milfoil-choked, snail-infested swamp....

The above could also create a cool SRC fishery between Marathon Park and the falls (which might never open, but hey, it's a cool dream). Probably help Percival Creek, which seems like a good chum/coho stream, too.

Percival used to be one of the major chum fisheries for the Squaxins.

The dam should be removed. Money being the big hold-up. That, and the need for consensus.

Sky river chums were kllied almost by the commercial nets in the bay in front of everett/Mukilteo. But this year numbers of pinks/coho were way down. So why not chum going down too? Course now days we have a headless fish/game agency. How long are we as citizens/anglers going to put up with this?

Skyrise -

To be fair we should remember that the adult pinks and coho that returned (or did not) this year enter the salt in the spring of 2016. The bulk of this year's chums entered in 2014. In addition the pinks, chums and coho all have different migration patterns as forage behaviors so it is not unexpected to see differential survivals as measured against the normal between the 3 species.

Curt

The chum run is also made up of broodyears 2012, 2013, and 2014. One good survival among the three can jump things. Pink were all 2015 and the vast bulk of coho were 2014 that entered the salt with the pinks.