Puget Sound Anglers State Board

Puget Sound Anglers

Welcome to the Puget Sound Anglers

Chapter Information

State Board Information

8 Gig Harbor General Meeting Justin Wong of Cutplug Charter and he will discuss fishing techniques

PSA has been on a mission for the last 6 years on rebuilding hatchery production. We spent time with
many different agencies, both federal and state, tribes, WDFW Commission, and coastal communities to
fix our downward death spiral where hatcheries were being blamed for the demise of the unclipped
natural origin chinook population.

While many organizations wanted to blame the tribes and commercials for wiping out the fish, the silent
killer was the massive hatchery production cuts that no one could see. Endangered Species Act and
Hatchery Science Review Group were driving many of these cuts. They cut production and that was
supposed to have these runs spring back into life. The exact opposite happened. Hatcheries kept getting
cut. This is the meaning of insanity. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

From 1992 to 2016, Washington yearly hatchery cuts were 63 million coho and chinook. Starving, dying Orcas were sending us a message. We needed to make more fish.

Every year or two now we have 60-year floods coming shortly after the chinook spawn. The rivers have
been channelized and straightened to be able to access more of the land. Now the rivers velocity has
increased and washes out trees and logs, along with the new salmon eggs. They don’t stand a chance.
Yearly, they have to take cranes on the Everett Trestle to break out the log jambs in the river below. If
these flood conditions can wash trees and pull logs out of the banks, salmon redds or nests don’t stand a
chance. 99% of those eggs wash down the river. 1% makes it. Only 1% of that 1% makes it back.

Before we screwed up the river systems and channelized them, the rivers used to wander back and forth
and meander. When the rivers flooded, the water went over their banks. This did not increase the
velocity of the river. The eggs were safe.

Hatcheries eggs and smolts are safe as they are attended to. If they silt out, someone cleans the eggs.
The hatchery is the healthiest part of the rivers system due to this. This is why we need hatcheries.

Our Puget Sound coho and chinook hatchery combined production was 1992 it was 105.3 Million fish 2016 it was 42 Million fish 63.3 Million less fish cut per year! With all of us working together we brought 2022 back up to 65.8
million fish or an increase over the 2016 by 23.9 Million more fish. Increase of 63.8% more fish.

We aregoing to see a huge amount of shakers in the winter blackmouth fishing months ahead and should hold
off till March or even April to fish for blackmouth to keep those impacts way down.

Please join and support your local PSA Chapter.

Ron Garner President PSA

Point Nopoint Fiasco

Pod cast on Ocra Whales with Butch Smith from Coho Charters

Article on Salmon and Dams

Protecting Washington’s Yelloweye Rockfish

Rockfish Identification Flyer

Video - Rockfish are back!!

Did you know that some yelloweye rockfish that are here today were Washington residents before it became a state in 1889? They have been and continue to be an important part of our heritage.

Halibut and bottomfish fishing have also been a part of Washington’s culture for hundreds of years. Many generations of fishermen have relied on halibut and bottomfish for food and recreation.

Fishery Management

A recent stock assessment indicates that the yelloweye rockfish population has declined over 80% from its initial level. As a result, immediate action must be taken if the stocks of these long-lived fish are to be rebuilt.

To rebuild yelloweye rockfish populations, the harvest opportunities for this species must be severely curtailed. In recent years, the Pacific Fishery Management Council has set yelloweye rockfish harvest levels for all commercial, recreational, and tribal fisheries combined for California, Oregon, and Washington of about 17 metric tons (mt). This number includes yelloweye rockfish that are discarded at sea.

The Washington recreational harvest target is about 2.7 mt (fewer than 1,000 fish) in coastal waters. To put this in perspective, in 2001, the Washington recreational fishery harvested 15 mt.

Halibut Fishery in Jeopardy

Yelloweye rockfish, in general, are harvested during the Washington recreational halibut fishery. If the yelloweye rockfish catch is projected to exceed 2.7 mt, then Pacific ocean waters adjacent to Washington outside 25 fathoms will be closed to recreational bottomfish fishing (including halibut).

If yelloweye rockfish cannot be avoided when anglers are targeting halibut, then we may have to close recreational halibut fishing in the future to protect yelloweye rockfish. Because the yelloweye rockfish stock may not be rebuilt for over 100 years, the problem of managing the yelloweye fishery will continue through our lifetime; however, you have the ability to help save the halibut fishery now and preserve the yelloweye resource for the future.

Yelloweye Rockfish Facts:

Live to be 120 years old
Range extends from Mexico to Alaska
Found in deeper, rocky bottom areas
Slow growing,low productive species
Reddish-orange in color with bright yelloweye
Commonly called "red snapper"
Often spend their entire lifetime on one rockpile

How You Can Help

If you are participating in the recreational halibut or bottomfish fishery, please avoid areas that are known to have yelloweye rockfish.
If you do accidentally catch a yelloweye, please return to the water s soon as possible.
Help spread the word to others about the severity of the yelloweye rockfish depleted population and the possible consequences of not avoiding yelloweye areas
If you do not know what areas may have yelloweye rockfish, please consult a local resort, motel, or charter office or other expert before fishing