The full closure of recreational steelhead angling announced this week by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and set to take effect Tuesday has left many looking on the bright side when there is no bright side for anglers, clients, guides, hospitality industry operators and sales tax coffers.
In an effort to meet management objectives and provide necessary protection for dwindling wild steelhead populations throughout the coast and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Preliminary data reviewed by state biologists suggest forecasted returns are likely coming back as low as 30 percent of what fishery managers expected, foreshadowing perhaps the lowest return ever recorded in some rivers.
Based on historic return timing, most hatchery steelhead runs have ended and the wild steelhead returns are more than one-third of the way complete.
“Throughout our conversations with anglers and the broader coastal community, we’ve been upfront about our commitment to designing fisheries that meet our conservation objectives,” said Kelly Cunningham, state fish program director. “With this preliminary data in hand that now suggests coastal steelhead returns are significantly lower than we expected, we need to take bold, swift actions for the future of these runs.”
Tribal governments have yet to announce a similar closure to netting schedules.
The state said tribes along the coast are closely monitoring their coastal steelhead fisheries and considering in-season management steps to continue to support conservation.
The Quileute Tribe’s original net schedule is set to continue fishing through March 15 with 35 hours of fishing set 1½ days a week from the mouth of the Quillayute River to the confluence of Murphy Creek above the Bogachiel Bridge on state Highway 110.
Last week, state fishery managers also kicked off a long-term planning process for coastal steelhead management with the first meeting of the Ad-hoc Coastal Steelhead Advisory Group. The group will be helping to inform the development of a long-term management plan to protect native and hatchery-produced steelhead for each river system of Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay and coastal Olympic Peninsula, as required by the state legislature in the 2021-23 budget.
