NEAH BAY — Just days after authorities from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife expressed concern that the Makah tribe had overfished wild chinook salmon during their winter treaty troll fishery, the tribe announced Thursday it was ending its fishing season 72 days ahead of schedule.
“We have been carefully managing this fishery in coordination with [U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries] biologists,” said Ben Johnson, tribal chairman.
“[We] always expected to close the fishery when our catch approached 20,000 fish.”
The current Makah season, which opened on the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Neah Bay and Port Angeles on Oct. 1, was scheduled to end April 15.
Earlier in the week, two Fish and Wildlife officials said the tribe had overfished wild chinook salmon — a threatened species in certain parts of the Northwest — possibly jeopardizing the summer fishing season for commercial, sport and tribal fisheries.
A Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman said Thursday that only Phil Anderson, the state’s salmon policy coordinator, could answer news media questions on the matter “because of the sensitivity of the issue.”
Several messages left for Anderson on Thursday went unanswered.
