THE FIRST PROTEST following the failure of the North of Falcon salmon season negotiations occurred Wednesday in La Conner.
A small band of recreational anglers gathered on the Rainbow Bridge over the Swinomish Channel to protest the Swinomish tribe’s plans for 25 boats to conduct three separate gillnet fisheries for chinook in Skagit Bay.
The Tulalip tribe also planned a gillnet chinook fishery on Puget Sound near Marysville on Wednesday.
With no North of Falcon agreement in place and no co-management plan under review by NOAA Fisheries, the tribes sought and received approval for the fisheries from the federal Bureau for Indian Affairs.
“The Bureau of Indian Affairs looked at a few of these early-season tribal fisheries, including the Swinomish, and found that because they have a relatively small impact, they could proceed under Section 7d [of the Endangered Species Act] while we are working on Endangered Species Act review of the tribal plan,” NOAA spokesman Michael Milstein said.
“That’s how these fisheries were able to proceed [Wednesday], even though NOAA has not provided approval.”
Other tribal fisheries of this type also may occur, though appear to have been scheduled.
“So long as impacts remain small and they don’t foreclose on the review, or prevent our ability to make changes to the plan later,” Milstein said.
“Some of these are ceremonial and subsistence fisheries, first-salmon ceremonies of the type that have been allowed in years past while North of Falcon agreements were under review.
“All told it’s about 1,250 fish.”
The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission issued a statement Wednesday from chair Lorraine Loomis that treaty tribes had submitted its proposed package of fisheries to NOAA in April following the North of Falcon meetings.
The statement said the tribes “have received preliminary approval” that none of these May fisheries “jeopardize any ESA-listed species.”
That statement was removed from the Commission’s website, nwtreatytribes.org, later Wednesday.
Milstein confirmed the tribes submitted their plan last Thursday.
He also said no such plan had been submitted by Fish and Wildlife as of Wednesday afternoon.
Effectively, the two tribes decided to test the strength of tribal treaty rights against the power of the Endangered Species Act, which lists many stocks of Puget Sound chinook.
Recreational fishing interests have no such recourse through Section 7d because with no North of Falcon agreement, sport fishers no longer considered “interrelated and interdependent with the tribal fisheries.”
This all was spelled out explicitly in a January letter from NOAA to the tribes and Fish and Wildlife, warning them of the consequences of a failure to come to agreement at the North of Falcon talks.
Second protest today
Another protest organized by recreational anglers is set at 11:30 a.m. today at the NOAA Fisheries satellite office in Lacey, 510 Desmond Drive SE.
West End not impacted
Due to the North of Falcon impasse, Fish and Wildlife enacted a number of emergency closures for lakes and rivers that flow into Puget Sound.
In this regard, the North Olympic Peninsula came away relatively unscathed.
Salmon fishing will continue on north coastal rivers such as the Quillayute and Sol Duc.
Halibut as scheduled
Recreational fisheries on the Strait of Juan de Fuca and in Puget Sound marine areas that are not affected by the closures include bottomfish, such as lingcod, Pacific cod and cabezon, as well as sea-run cutthroat trout and halibut.
These fisheries are covered under a separate permit and are open as scheduled.
Special hunt permits
Hunters have through Wednesday, May 18, to apply for special hunting permits for fall deer, elk, mountain goat, moose, bighorn sheep and turkey seasons.
Permit winners will be selected through a random drawing conducted by Fish and Wildlife in June.
Special permits qualify hunters to hunt at times and places beyond those authorized by a general hunting license.
To apply for a special permit, hunters planning to hunt for deer or elk must purchase an application and hunting license for those species and submit the application with their preferred hunt choices.
Applications and licenses are available from license vendors statewide or online at tinyurl.com/PDN-SpecialPermit.
Applications must be submitted on the website or by calling 1-877-945-3492 toll-free.
Instructions and details on applying for special permit hunts are described on pages 12-13 of the 2016 Big Game Hunting Seasons and Regulations pamphlet and online at tinyurl.com/PDN-Hunt16.
Results of the special-permit drawing will be available online by the end of June at tinyurl.com/PDN-HuntWinners.
Winners will be notified by mail or email by mid-July.
Razor clam digs
A series of razor clam digs running through Thursday, May 12 were recently approved by state shellfish managers.
Digging is not allowed on any beach after noon with the exception of Mocrocks on Thursday, May 12, when digging will be allowed for an extra hour, until 1 p.m., due to the later low tide.
The digs are scheduled on the following dates, low tides and beaches:
■ Friday: 6:51 a.m., -1.5 feet.; Long Beach.
■ Saturday: 7:39 a.m., -2.0 feet; Long Beach.
■ Sunday: 8:26 a.m., -2.1 feet; Long Beach.
■ Monday: 9:14 a.m., -1.9 feet; Mocrocks.
■ Tuesday: 10:03 a.m., -1.5 feet; Mocrocks.
■ Wednesday: 10:55 a.m., -0.9 feet; Mocrocks.
■ Thursday, May 12: 11:49 a.m., -0.3 feet; Mocrocks.
For more information on razor clamming, including a list of proposed digs, visit tinyurl.com/PDN-Razors16
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Outdoors columnist Michael Carman appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 57050 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
