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WDFW Releases Draft Puget Sound Rockfish Conservation Plan:
Severe Limits on Puget Sound Recreational Fishing Possible

Issue:

On October 19, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) released a draft conservation plan for rockfish in Puget Sound and announced its intention to hold four public meetings and accept public comment on the plan for only 30-days, until November 19. A copy of the draft plan is available here and below is a list of upcoming public meetings:

Mill Creek – Oct. 29th 7-9 p.m. in at WDFW’s Mill Creek office, 16018 Mill Creek Blvd.
Friday Harbor – Nov. 2nd Noon-2 p.m. in the Commons Room at the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor laboratory, 620 University Road.
Olympia – Nov. 4th 7-9 p.m. in room 172 of the Natural Resources Building, 1111 Washington St. S.E.
Port Townsend – Nov. 6th 4-6 p.m. in the Raven Room at Skookum Inc., 385 Benedict St.
Some of the alternatives being proposed in the draft plan include an extensive network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), additional no-fishing zones and new recreational fishing gear, depth, time and area restrictions on salmon, halibut, lingcod and other fisheries in Puget Sound. These alternatives, if adopted, could have a significant impact on nearly all recreational fishing activities in Puget Sound. CCA Washington representatives will be in attendance at the public meetings and CCA will be submitting comments on the plan.

It is widely known that Puget Sound rockfish are in trouble; a majority of stocks are severely depressed, including several species once important to recreational fisheries. NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service recently proposed listing three species of Puget Sound rockfish under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) – bocaccio, canary and yelloweye rockfish. In simple terms, action is needed to conserve and restore rockfish populations. However, any plan must be based in science, include demonstrable scientific research and verifiable data to indicate that the burden of conservation is accurately placed, and that proposed restrictions will, in fact, be effective.

CCA Rockfish Conservation Efforts:

Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) is the largest non-profit marine conservation organization in the country. For over thirty years, through, its 100,000 members in 17 states, CCA has worked tirelessly to conserve, promote and enhance marine resources. In a little over two years over 5,000 conservation-minded anglers have formed a dozen local CCA chapters in Washington, including several chapters in south, central and north Puget Sound.

CCA Washington has been actively involved in efforts to conserve and restore Puget Sound rockfish populations. CCA Washington played an integral role in supporting a $4.5 million federal grant awarded to the Northwest Straits Commission to remove 3,000 derelict gill nets lost and discarded in Puget Sound. This effort, featured in the most recent Ripple Effect and on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, is likely to achieve significant reductions in rockfish mortality. Meanwhile, CCA’s Puget Sound Marine Enhancement Committee is coordinating an effort to restore and enhance rockfish habitat using the best available science. An update on this initiative was highlighted in the most recent CCAconnect e-newsletter.

Action You Can Take

CCA Washington supports efforts to preserve and restore rockfish in Puget Sound and in, general terms, supports the need for a Rockfish Conservation Plan. However, CCA Washington has many questions and concerns with the proposed plan and encourages members to attend the upcoming public meetings to ask questions and comment on the proposal. While CCA intends to review the draft plan in greater detail and submit comments over the next several weeks, we have provided some initial comments for your consideration below:

The proposed 30-day public review and comment period is not adequate for a major proposal of this nature (nearly 100 pages). CCA will be requesting a minimum of 90 days for public comment and review. In addition, for many residents of Northwest Washington and the Kitsap Peninsula, the current public comment locations would require significant time and expense to attend and limits their participation in the public process. Accordingly, CCA Washington intends to request additional public meetings.
Recreational fishers would be uniquely impacted by proposed Marine Protected Areas and fishing restrictions. The evidence indicates that multiple factors have impacted rockfish populations, including past over-fishing, habitat degradation, pollution, predation and derelict fishing gear, to name a few. More study is needed to determine a rational approach to mitigating these multiple threats before implementing regulations that focus on only one group -- recreational anglers. For example, the draft plan gives little consideration to direct and indirect mortality from commercial fishing activities.
The plan does not consider the habitat restoration programs already underway. The Northwest Straits Commission ghost net removal program, which was not even funded when the draft plan was being developed, is estimated to restore 600 acres of habitat, much of which is complex high relief structure considered premium rockfish habitat. The draft plan estimates that up to 61,000 rockfish may be caught annually in ghost nets, many of which are being removed by the Northwest Straits Commission. This ghost net mortality of rockfish is nearly double the estimated 35,000 rockfish encountered by recreational anglers annually. Furthermore, the plan does not propose specific measures to limit the ongoing loss of derelict fishing gear, such as mandatory reporting, permanent marking of nets and funding for removal efforts.
Little scientific evidence is presented in the plan indicating that the creation of MPA’s would provide greater conservation benefit than less severe conservation measures such as the potential Rockfish Recovery Areas, habitat restoration and creation, and marine enhancement. Furthermore, no criteria for periodic scientific assessment and review has been proposed by which the closed areas could be reopened, if ever.
The plan takes a one-size-fits-all approach in managing rockfish in Puget Sound. Comparing Hood Canal with the Straits, and the San Juan Islands with the south Sound makes little sense. CCA believes the plan must recognize the difference in the wide variety of habitat, rockfish population density, environmental concerns, water quality, armored shorelines and other issues in managing each marine area.