I thought this might be of interest to some folks.


WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/
March 25, 2019
Contact: Kelly Cunningham, 360-902-2325
WDFW seeks input on proposed rules for fishing guide industry
OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is seeking public comments on proposed rules that would require that fishing guides regularly report their fishing activities.
Under the proposed rules, fishing guides would provide WDFW with information such as the date and location of each guided fishing trip, the number of anglers onboard, and the number and type of fish species caught per trip.
Currently, WDFW relies on individual anglers to report their catch information but does not have a means of tracking whether the activity was part of a guided fishing trip, said Kelly Cunningham, deputy assistant director for WDFW's Fish Program.
"This information will help us understand the role the guide industry plays not only in terms of helping recreational anglers to access fisheries, but also in providing economic benefits to local and state economies," Cunningham said. "We also have heard concerns about issues such as over-crowding and will use the information to understand if and where this is happening."
Draft rules are posted for public review on the department's website at https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/commercial/guide-logbook. WDFW will accept public comments submitted through 5 p.m., June 7, on that website, by email to Rules.Coordinator@dfw.wa.gov, or by postal mail to Scott Bird, WDFW Rules Coordinator, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091.
Cunningham noted the agency held more than a dozen meetings with fishing guides around the state to discuss guiding activities and requiring guides to record essential information about each trip.
"We're working with fishing guides to develop a reporting mechanism that works for them and provides the agency with timely information that will help us manage fisheries," Cunningham said.
The department initiated a review of the guiding industry following a directive from the state Legislature in 2017. The stated objectives were to:
Improve the fishing experience and ensure equitable opportunity for both guided and non-guided river anglers,
Manage fishing pressure to protect wild steelhead and other species; and
Ensure that recreational fish guiding remains a sustainable economic contributor to rural economies.
In 2018, the Legislature gave the department the OK to require fishing guides to report trip information.
WDFW staff will present their proposal to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission at its April 5-6 meeting in Olympia. The commission is scheduled to take public comment on the proposal at its June 14-15 meeting in Port Angeles before making a decision during the Aug. 2-3 meeting.
Details about those commission meetings will be posted online at https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is the primary state agency tasked with preserving, protecting and perpetuating fish and wildlife and ecosystems, while providing sustainable fishing and hunting opportunities.

Persons with disabilities who need to receive this information in an alternative format or who need reasonable accommodations to participate in WDFW-sponsored public meetings or other activities may contact Dolores Noyes by phone (360-902-2349), TTY (360-902-2207), or email (dolores.noyes@dfw.wa.gov). For more information, see http://wdfw.wa.gov/accessibility/reasonable_request.html.

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When I fished Iceland the guide was required to make a daily report of the number and species caught. Seems reasonable to me. Probably should have something in the rule to protect the specific guide; just make the daily total by waterbody/area available.

Would this just be for FW, just for steelhead, or is it broader?

I'd like to see the same for the Charter boat industry, yea I know the clients have the punch card that is suppose to be sent in but how many salmon are released?????

Oh, punch card returns are around 50 %, this is from WDFW that know license sales totals vs. punch card returns.....

Is this to gather information on harvest totals, or number of guides/clients fishing a particular river. My suspicion is this information will eventually be used to "regulate" which rivers a guide can take clients, and restrict the number of guides on a particular river.

As for numbers of harvest... it would do the department well to enforce tribal fish ticket turn in. From what I understand, there is a big discrepancy from tribe to tribe and the actual numbers they say they harvest and what is estimated they are harvesting. We sportsmen need to do a better job also, if Drifter's comment is correct and we only turn in half, that's bad. I suspect the reason a lot of guys don't turn theirs in is because they didn't punch any fish...but still.