Good news isn’t part and parcel with salmon fishing, but two recent developments appear to have the recreational summer salmon season off the coast off on solid footing.
Ocean salmon season options were approved by the Pacific Fishery Management Council and do not include the dreaded “no fishing” option.
“This year’s options continue to provide needed protections for Puget Sound chinook stocks, but also allow for a substantially larger coho quota for Washington’s recreational fisheries compared to 2021,” said Kyle Adicks, intergovernmental salmon manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“This is the first time in several years that we haven’t included a ‘no fishing’ option, which is a positive development.”
Option 1 provides 32,500 chinook and 176,400 marked coho and fisheries for both species would begin June 18 in all ocean areas. All three options state that no chinook retention would be allowed east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line beginning Aug. 1.
Option 2 allows for 30,000 chinook and 155,400 marked coho with fisheries scheduled from June 25 to Sept. 30.
In the third option, recreational anglers would have access to 26,500 chinook and 134,400 marked coho with fisheries opening June 18 and scheduled through Sept. 18.
So a slight increase in chinook offerings and a pretty solid improvement in the coho tally from 2021, in other words.
A much bigger change is the re-opening of Neah Bay to vaccinated visitors after a two-year closure that forced recreational and charter boats to launch out of Sekiu and make the long haul out to ocean fishing grounds while targeting all manner of species.
It’s good to see the Makah Tribe and anglers operating out of Neah Bay get back to business providing meaningful outdoor opportunities and will help ease the pinch at the gas pump slightly for those who no longer have to set sail from Sekiu to reach Marine Area 4.
Razor clam digs
Razor clam digs continue with evening digs and even some morning digs planned through Tuesday at the following ocean beaches:
• Today: 7:41 p.m.; +0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks.
• Saturday: 8:14 p.m.; +0.5 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis.
• Sunday: 8:46 a.m.; +0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks.
• Monday: 9:30 a.m.; 0.0 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis.
• Tuesday: 10:18 a.m.; -0.1 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks.
New Parks leader
Washington State Parks made an internal hire as 14-year agency vet Diana Dupuis was named as the agency’s new director Wednesday. Dupuis will be the first female director in the agency’s 100-plus-year history.
Dupuis is currently the region manager in Spokane. Previously, she served as a park ranger, LEAN practitioner, area manager and operations manager. Prior to joining Parks, Dupuis worked as an adjunct faculty member at Green River Community College in the Department of Anthropology and the Department of Criminal Justice. Dupuis also served on the special operations response team with the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner office.
Hatcheries hiring
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife needs help marking more than 110 million hatchery salmon and steelhead to identify them as hatchery fish before being released into state waters in 2022.
That number is 11 million more fish than in 2021.
Hatchery fish are marked by clipping their adipose fin while still in the fry stage, before being released to make their way from their home waters to the ocean and back.
Anyone interested in volunteering at a state hatchery can visit https://wdfw.wa.gov/get-involved/volunteer.
Anyone interested in applying for a paid marking position can look for positions in their area and apply through Kelly Services at tinyurl.com/PDN-FishClipper22.
These temporary, full-time positions pay $16.49 per hour with the ability to start immediately, no experience required and training provided.
