However, only one hatchery chinook can be kept in the central and northern Puget Sound
By Mark Yuasa / Seattle Times staff reporter
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he sport salmon seasons were decided Wednesday, and opportunities will be very similar to last year along with some positive changes for coastal fisheries.
Chinook or king salmon, as well as, coho salmon fishing in Washington state looks to be as good as it was in the 70s, which was prime. Photo by NOAA.
One of the biggest changes from last summer is the reduced daily hatchery chinook catch limit in central and northern Puget Sound (Marine Catch Areas 9 and 10).
Salmon fishing in Areas 9 and 10 will be open from July 16 through Aug. 31, but could close sooner if the catch quotas are achieved. The limit will be one hatchery chinook daily, compared to the two hatchery fish limit in past seasons.
Other noticeable changes are a shorter non-selective coho season at Sekiu (Area 5) from Sept. 19-25, which is nine days shorter than last year. The Oct. 1-31 will also shift to a hatchery coho and chinook only season; and from Feb. 16-April 10 anglers will need to release wild chinook.
In the San Juan Islands (Area 7) it will shift to a hatchery-chinook only from Oct. 1-31 compared to last fall when wild and hatchery chinook could be kept.
Anglers will also need to release wild chinook in south-central Puget Sound (Area 11) from Oct. 1-Dec. 31, and in southern Puget Sound from Nov. 1-April 30.
Salmon anglers will get a bonus two sockeye in the daily catch limits at Sekiu, Port Angeles and San Juan Islands (Areas 5, 6 and 7) during summer fisheries through Aug. 31 that will take advantage of the 23-to 72-plus million sockeye expected back to the Fraser River in southern British Columbia.
The ocean salmon fishing seasons could very well go down as some of the best seen in more than three decades.
“It will absolutely be a good summer for salmon off the coast, and one of the most significant seen in years,” Doug Milward, the state Fish and Wildlife coastal salmon resource manager said of returns that resemble those seen dating back to the all-time peak in 1977.
State fishery managers unveiled a surprisingly large Columbia River forecast that could be a landmark return of nearly 3 million chinook and coho.
