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Great News For Wild Steelhead

9K views 70 replies 23 participants last post by  Todd Ripley 
#1 ·
OLYMPIA - The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission today adopted new sportfishing rules for the 2004-05 season that include a two-year moratorium on retaining any wild steelhead caught in state waters.

The moratorium, adopted on a 5-3 vote, will require anglers to release any steelhead caught from April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2006 that is not marked as a hatchery fish by a missing adipose fin and a healed scar.

Drawing from a list of 463 proposed changes - 336 of them submitted by the public - the commission also adopted new handling requirements for releasing salmon and steelhead that cannot be retained, additional protection for Columbia River sturgeon and fixed starting dates for recreational crab fishing.

Commissioners also declined to take action on several proposals, including one to ban treble hooks in saltwater fisheries and another to prohibit the use of motorized vessels on the Satsop and Wynoochee Rivers.

Commissioner R.P. Van Gytenbeek of Seattle initiated the discussion about requiring the release of wild steelhead by calling for a permanent ban on wild steelhead retention. When that motion failed, the commission considered and rejected the idea of a six-year moratorium before scaling it back to two years.

"In this case, I think a half a loaf is better than no loaf at all," Van Gytenbeek said. "A lot of people in this state are concerned about the decline of our wild steelhead stocks and I think a moratorium gets us started down the right path."

Commission Chair Will Roehl of Bellingham did not share that view, noting that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is currently working on a new comprehensive plan for steelhead management, tailored to specific stocks.

"I can't support banning retention of wild steelhead on rivers where stocks are healthy and returns are strong," Roehl said. "I don't think this broad-brush action is warranted, but that appears to be the will of commission."

When releasing steelhead or salmon that cannot be retained under state law, anglers will have to follow new handling procedures approved today by the commission. Measures adopted by the commission prohibit completely removing salmon or steelhead caught in lakes or streams from the water or pulling them into a boat in Puget Sound prior to release.

To provide greater protection for Columbia River sturgeon, the commission extended the closed area below Bonneville Dam approximately two miles downstream to Marker 85 from May 1 to July 31. All sturgeon fishing - whether from a boat or from the bank - will be prohibited in the expanded closure area, where the fish tend to congregate.

In addition, the annual harvest of sturgeon for personal use was reduced from 10 fish to five statewide, and sturgeon seasons recently developed in conjunction with Oregon were adopted as permanent rules for the 2004-05 season.

Recreational crabbers, meanwhile, can expect greater certainty in the timing of their seasons in the coming year. For the first time since 2000, the commission set opening dates for each marine area rather than relying on tests to determine when the crab have finished their molt.

Improved data on molting periods provided by WDFW allowed the commission to set opening dates this year for crab fisheries in all 13 marine areas of Puget Sound and the Washington coast, Roehl said.

"We're pleased that we've reached this point," Roehl said. "Now we have the data we need to protect the resource, while allowing people to plan their vacations."

In other matters the commission:

· Clarified rules prohibiting snagging, making it illegal to hook and retain a fish (other than forage fish) to the rear of its gill plate.
· Adopted a three-month catch-and-release fishery for trout and other gamefish on the Cedar River in King County.
· Adopted permanent regulations banning retention of canary rockfish and prohibited spearfishing for any species of rockfish.
· Set new daily hours (9 .m. to 1 p.m. on days open to shrimp fishing) for designated Puget Sound shrimp districts such as Port Angeles Harbor and Discovery bay. It also extended the Port Townsend Shrimp District north of the Port Townsend ship canal to include Kilisut Harbor.
· Extended the Octopus Hole Conservation Area in Hood Canal to include the adjacent tidelands.
· Set new hours for harvesting clams and oysters on a number of beaches and set new bag limits and seasons for rivers and lakes throughout the state.

These and other measures adopted by the commission will appear in WDFW's 2004-05 Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet.
 
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#6 ·
Gytenbeek and the WSC Suck!!!

This is the most biased and idiotic decision the commission has ever made.

It is resource allocation based upon political favoritism and has no basis in conservation reality. There is nothing to indicate that over harvest has caused the current declines of the inland steelhead stocks. Those rivers where no harvest and in some cases no fishing is allowed have equally reflected the current steelhead cycles.

The coastal stocks have been showing a trend towards increasing numbers despite somewhat extreme harvest pressure.

They have lied and blindsided us with their public statement that the total ban on steelhead harvest would not be considered this rule cycle.

Washington and Idaho are now the only two places in the Pacific Northwest with a total prohibition on wild steelhead harvest including stocks with adult returns as much as twice that required for spawning escapement.

Thanks to the scumbags in the Wild Steelhead Coalition I will never again purchase another fishing license in this state!

I'm outa here - Plunk
 
#7 ·
I rather like this ruling and I raise my glass in a toast to the members of the WSC as well as the members of the commission that voted for this measure.
 
#9 ·
Congratulations to the WSC who by the way is not some elite political force but it's you and it's me, and it's America - a country forged by it's people. And in America we look after our national treasures, and by God the steelhead is such a treasure - not meat.

To my dear friends and former neighbors in the pacific northwest if there is one thing that I have been enlightened to since my move to the birthplace of our nation - that is our incredible history since the pilgrims fled from religious persecution and landed not far from where I live. And one town over, an admiral built a wooden ship 40 years before Lewis and Clark and sailed around Cape Horn and up the pacific coast to discover a river which he named after his boat, the SS Columbia. It's all about individuals who hold strong convictions despite the odds and opposition, despite old thinking with deeply buried roots in incumbent positions, to believe in the face of non-believers, and to in their own way change the world.

For a steelhead angler, or any true sportsman this is no less of a day than any that history can compare. For the first time in our history we've have acted to turn the tide on the damage we've done for centuries against this national treasure, the wild Washington state steelhead.

In recent years striped bass along the east coast were gravely endangered and a rare sight for recreational and commercial anglers in the 80's. Such a moratorium was put in place and the stocks rebounded to healthy levels, it was a complete success. The vigil is held by groups like the Coastal Conservation Association and countless others today to make sure we do not fall back into the abyss. Two years may not be enough to solve the problem but it will provide enough feedback to extend the study to a full life cycle, which I believe is critical to measuring it's success for the statistical types who are the majority in these things. My one comment would be why two years and not life-cycle? Number of years is a human decision, this can not be measured in human terms. The study should be implemented and measured in terms of the steelhead's life cycle.

In any case - Ryan, the officers of the WSC and my friends in the fraternity of the steelhead... it's a good thing I can type this out, because I sure can't talk with this lump choking my throat.

The fish in the logo I designed swims upon an infinity symbol. That's not just graphics, that is a deeply rooted dream of mine as a dedicated Washington steelhead angler. I am proud to be a small part of this and to those who carried this out I am indebted to you for having fulfilled a huge step forward toward this dream we share.
 
#11 ·
Thanks are owed

I want everyone to take a moment and thank Rich Simms, Jack Berryman, Dick Burge, Jeff Johnson and the rest of the WSC BOD. They would not keep quiet on this issue when many people, myself included, were advising them to let the fight rest and focus on other issues. They kept fighting and fighting and fighting. This victory is for thye fish but the people mentioned above are to thank.

Way to go guys!

And Plunk, don't let the door...

sinktip
 
#12 ·
Way to go guys.

Fish politics are passionate, hard to deal with and very frustrating. That you stuck with it and realized this success is an inspiration to all of us involved in this fight. Congratulations and keep up the good work - there is more to be done.

Tyler Kushnir

Steelhead Society of B.C., Director.
 
#15 ·
Making Wild Steelhead Release Work

The stars must have aligned for this one.

We now have mandatory statewide wild steelhead release and also a way through "Streamwatch at Eyes in the Woods" at: eyesinthewoods.org to help with enforcement. If you are serious about your love for this precious resource, now is the time to commit. So far these discussions on this and other boards amount to "preaching to the choir." The release of wild steelhead needs to be forced onto the masses. It doesn't do us any good to pass rules and laws without the means to enforce them. So get with your fishing clubs (I know I will with my club) and learn to report and prosecute poachers. If you don't belong to an organized club, I'm sure Eyes in Woods would accept members of this group as an organization.

We won, now let's make sure it works.

Leland.
 
#16 ·
Re: ...and also thanks to

DLoop said:
Sparkey. Didn't he lead the petitioning for the wild fish handling changes?
Dave-
I do not think I can take the credit for the new handling regulation although I have seen it referred to as Sparkey's Law on a few differant occasions. :D

On Bob's Board about a year ago, I brought up, on a couple differant occasions, that I would like to see a change in the current regulations regarding the handling of wild steelhead.

About a half dozen or so people sent in regulation proposals that were similar to mine. I also stood up for the proposal and defended it when it came under fire (and recieved many nasty emails).

BUT, there were others that brought up similar proposal ideas prior to when the proposals were due, there were others that defended the proposal...and there were also others that testifed and sent in letters on behalf of the proposal as well.
 
#17 ·
This is excellent news. I had thought the wild steelhead release issue was dead this regulation cycle.

Rich and the rest of you guys in the WSC who wouldn't let it go, THANK YOU!!!!! Likewise, thanks to the commissioners who voted in favor of the 2 year wild steelhead release.

Plunk,

There are many rivers with documented depressed wild steelhead numbers, the Stilly, Sky, Sno, Nooksack, and Skagit to name just a few.
 
#18 ·
I am not sure I agree with this law. I don't like blanket laws like this one. I would rather see the same type effort put forth to protect those runs that are in imminent danger of extinction instead of a state wide law. The majority of steelhead fishermen already release wild fish and most of the rivers in this state already have mandatory release of wild steelhead. All this rule has done is drive a wedge between the sportsmen of this state and in the long run could do more harm then good.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Kerry,

Most of the rivers have mandatory release simply because the health of stocks has declined to the point where WDFW cannot justify it. Unless it is changed in the last year, the emergency release regulations are emergency restrictions only. This may have changed as I know Curt was trying to get it so last year.

Regardless, the North Sound rivers were deemed to have healthy stocks (and thus harvest) right up until the emergency closures in the fall of '01. At that time, the health of the stocks was determined to be so poor that they could not even withstand the incidental impacts of a CnR fishery.

While I do not believe that harvest is the "great satan" in declining runs, it is surely a lesser one. As the Sky, Stilly, Sauk and Skagit runs try and fight their way back to recovery, I can only imagine that the decendants of all the harvested fish from the "healthy" years would be a welcome addition.

As for driving a wedge, maybe in the short run. Look at how Idaho and BC sport fishers have embraced CnR. They won't stay mad for long.

sinktip
 
#21 ·
Sinktip,

I hope you are right but as things look now the WSC has acquired many new enemies because of it’s support for this rule. I don’t see that as a positive. As I stated before I don’t like blanket rules like this one but I will continue to support catch and release of wild steelhead. I think through education and awareness virtually the same thing could have been accomplished with out all of the ill feelings.

KLS
 
#23 ·
Well it seems most people who oppose this are thinking that this restriction will make it easier for more restrictions to be imposed on anglers (basically total shutdown). I do not agree with that mentality as this has not happened in BC and Idaho. Like Sinktip says people are quick to forget and just move on.

From the people I have talked to and read online who oppose this are busy pointing their fingers at the tribes, netters, poachers, etc. However, it seems reasonable that since this fight has been won we do indeed have our house in order to go after these other problems.

Those who release wild steelhead are in the majority in this state and last time I checked that is how things in this country are supposed to be run. Majority rules (unless you are running for prez :) )

I for one would love to see this go to a public statewide vote via an initiative. I think we would have no problem winning....

This ruling has really got me excited about grass roots campaigns and feeling bad about not giving as much as I could to the cause. That will change in 2004.


-sean
 
#24 ·
Kerry,

You are right on the swelling of the ranks of enemies of the WSC. I am not sure that they are new though as many lined up against the WSC two years ago. Even so, there are many friends out there both new and old.

The WSC swung for the fences and connected. They used the department's own data and talked science with the commissioners. Or at least all of them but the one that refused to meet with them. They got there ammunition in order and played the political game. Despite the "backroom betrayal" BS that many of those opposing this decision are claiming, the WSC did it the old fashioned way by working the system. For that they should be commended.

Is their target area larger now? You betcha. This was a huge victory but now they need to keep the momentum going on those other issues like habitat that have an even greater impact on the health of steelhead runs. The next two years will determine if the WSC thrives or goes down as a one issue organization. Based upon what we witnessed last Friday, I expect only the best from them.

sinktip
 
#25 ·
From what I have been able to gather, the majority of fisherfolk are in favor of wild steelhead C&R. They are only a little apprehensive of giving up their fish to someone else, ie. tribes, poachers and the "unknown." They will embrace and forget if the runs can be increased. These two years are a little short but it can be done.

It's going to take extra care by all of us to make sure we release with speed and care – meaning we should take our photos with the fish in the water (especially if you're going to post – photographic proof of lawbreaking)!

Also, the C&R rule has the potential to create many more lawbreakers. We need to be vigilant and do what we can to stop the increased poaching, particularly on those rivers where there has been a kill season.

Come on WSC, get "Streamwatch at Eyes in the Woods" to our next meeting. Remember how much Curt Kraemer was for it last year.

Leland.
 
#26 ·
As I said earlier in the thread this is great news. Sinktip is right about BC. The change to Wild Steelhead Release was not without a fight. The first couple of years saw a major decline in licenses sold, however that did not last long. The fisherman returned to the fish they love.

I must say that for the most part, there is at least a generation of BC anglers that wouldn't dream of killing a wild steelhead. The concept is part of the steelhead ethic in BC, I hope this is the start of a similar mind set in Washington State.

A question comes to mind, what effect (if any) does this development have on the closures on the Sky and Skagit in the spring?
 
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