Native/Wild steelhead CNR

Don't we have to release all natives state wide? I heard you can keep one native per year on the coast. The reg shows state wide CNR and there is nothing on the WDFW site about keeping one per year.
Not desperate to keep one fish per year :rolleyes: especially natives but it is that time of the year and I like to know where this rule is posted.

NEWS RELEASE
WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091

September 2, 2004
Contact: WDFW) Craig Bartlett, (360) 902-2259
(Commission) Susan Yeager, (360) 902-2449


Commission reverses wild steelhead ban,
adopts annual one-fish rule on 12 rivers
To hear audio from the
conference call click here
OLYMPIA – The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission today reversed a measure it approved last February that imposed a two-year moratorium on retaining any wild steelhead caught in state waters.

By a unanimous vote, the nine-member commission instead will allow anglers to retain one wild steelhead per year on a dozen rivers – all but one of which is on the Olympic Peninsula – affected by the moratorium.

The new annual limit for those rivers, which takes effect Oct. 3, is more conservative than the annual five-fish limit in effect before the moratorium was enacted last spring, said Will Roehl, commission chair.

“For all the discussion about what the annual limit should be on those rivers, any long-term decisions about steelhead management need to be based on the best available science,” Roehl said.

Toward that end, the commission has directed the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to update its comprehensive plan for managing steelhead throughout the state. That plan, now being developed in conjunction with treaty tribes and other interested parties, is scheduled for completion in late 2006.

Rivers and streams affected by today’s action by the commission include the Bogachiel, Calawah, Clearwater, Dickey, Goodman, Green, Hoh, Hoko, Pysht, Quillayute, Quinault and the Soleduck.

Anglers must still release any wild steelhead caught on all other rivers and streams throughout the state. Hatchery-bred steelhead, which represent the majority of the annual catch statewide, are not subject to that rule, but are managed according to daily catch limits established on a river-by-river basis.

Citing scientific recommendations by WDFW for the 12 affected rivers, Roehl was one of several commissioners who questioned the biological need for an outright ban on wild-steelhead retention. Others expressed concerns about the lack of consultation with treaty tribes and the public before the moratorium was adopted last February.

“This time, we got the word out and had plenty of public input,” said Roehl, noting that the commission received more than 800 letters, e-mails and petitions on the moratorium today’s vote, which followed a public meeting dedicated to the issue Aug. 28 in Bremerton.

Thanks I was looking under emergency rule updates. Rule changed in Sep :rolleyes: time flies. They should have put a 28" size limit.