Anglers able to adjust to foggy conditions have done well during the first week of salmon season off Sekiu (Marine Area 5) and Port Angeles (Marine Area 6).
Chinook-per-angler averages of 0.63 at Ediz Hook, 0.48 at Freshwater Bay and 0.51 at Mason’s Resort in Sekiu attested to a strong opening day despite a lack of tidal action.
The catch rates have cooled a bit in the past week for Sekiu, but smaller numbers of anglers continue to have solid success off Port Angeles and off the kelp line in the waters west of Bachelor Rock at Freshwater Bay.
Thankfully, Area 5 and 6 fisheries aren’t micromanaged to the degree as the San Juan Islands, which saw an overly effective opening week of chinook fishing reel up an entire month’s worth of quota, ending the season Thursday after just seven days.
Halibut left over
Up-to-date halibut quota poundage numbers have been released by Fish and Wildlife and show plenty of halibut remaining for the North Coast and Puget Sound subareas.
Total catch in the North Coast was 56,558 pounds, leaving 72,370 quota pounds remaining.
In Puget Sound, total catch was 48,491 pounds, leaving 29,800 quota pounds remaining.
All told, Fish and Wildlife say there is 85,618 pounds of quota remaining statewide as the South Coast took 16,292 pounds over the subarea quota, and the Columbia River was 260 pounds over its subarea quota.
Added August and September halibut dates off the North Coast and Puget Sound are still pending approval by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Projected catch totals for those dates is 39,000 pounds, potentially leaving 46,618 pounds of sport allocation left uncaught.
Heat wave impact
When temperatures skyrocketed to nearly 100 degrees last month, sea animals felt the effects of the extreme heat, with Chris Harley, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia, roughly estimating that a total of 1 billion animals died in the Salish Sea.
That’s a lot of dead mussels, clams, sea snails, barnacles, etc.
Mussels were one of the most vulnerable animals to the heat.
“Marine mussels, the ones that are dying here, just like freshwater mussels, they’re filter feeders so they do clear out particles in the water and make the water a little clearer,” Harley told the Toronto Star, adding that mussels are in the middle of the food web.
The heat wave also could have impacts down the line this summer on river flows and temperatures for streams and rivers.
Fish and Wildlife has created a community science tool the public can use to report potential fish or shellfish die-offs related to low water levels, high temperatures or other environmental conditions.
Members of the public can access the tool at https://publicinput.com/X7060. Including information about the location, size, number and type of fish or shellfish found can help state biologists better understand the impacts of this year’s warm weather on these populations.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-406-0674 or mcarman@peninsula dailynews.com.
