Area waters expected to reopen to fishing soon

OLYMPIA, WA—Following the stalemate that temporarily closed many Puget Sound fisheries, state and tribal leaders this week shook hands on a deal that should open specific summer salmon seasons for recreational fishing, “within a few weeks.” Co-managers agreed on this year’s Puget Sound salmon seasons after several weeks of negotiations. Projected low numbers of returning salmon—especially ESA-listed coho—jammed the process. And most coho fisheries will remain shuttered.

Agreement on fishing seasons is a key step in obtaining a joint federal permit from NOAA required to conduct fisheries in Puget Sound waters, where some fish stocks are protected under the ESA. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) closed Puget Sound-area waters to fishing on May 1, for the first time in 32 years, after the previous federal authorization to conduct fisheries expired.

“We plan to re-open those waters as soon as we have federal approval,” said John Long, salmon fisheries policy lead for WDFW. “We anticipate getting the new permit within a few weeks.”

Updated information is available on the department’s site.

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Tom Bie
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Tom Bie is the founder, editor, and publisher of The Drake. He started the magazine in 1998 as an annual newsprint publication based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He then moved it to Steamboat, Colorado (1999), Boulder, Colorado (2001), and San Clemente, California (2004), as he took jobs as managing editor at Paddler, Senior Editor at Skiing, and Editor-in-Chief at Powder, respectively. Tom and The Drake are now both based in Denver, Colorado, where The Drake is finally all grows up(Swingers, 1996) to a quarterly magazine.

Category: Daily Drake
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Author: Tom Bie

Tom Bie is the founder, editor, and publisher of The Drake. He started the magazine in 1998 as an annual newsprint publication based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He then moved it to Steamboat, Colorado (1999), Boulder, Colorado (2001), and San Clemente, California (2004), as he took jobs as managing editor at Paddler, Senior Editor at Skiing, and Editor-in-Chief at Powder, respectively. Tom and The Drake are now both based in Denver, Colorado, where The Drake is finally all grows up(Swingers, 1996) to a quarterly magazine.

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