wdfw commisioner enters new proposal after the deadline

June 1
All proposals due

WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE Print Version
NEWS RELEASE
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091 RSS Feeds

November 04, 2009
Contact: Fish Program, (360) 902-2700

WDFW accepting comments through Dec. 1
on 2010-12 sportfishing rule proposals

OLYMPIA – There’s still time for people to provide comments to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) on state sportfishing rules proposed for 2010-12.

WDFW will accept written comments on the proposals through Dec. 1. The proposed rules include several measures designed to protect fish and shellfish.

Among them is a recently added proposal that would close fishing for bottomfish and halibut off the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula. The proposed closure, which would extend 1.5 miles offshore and stretch about 4 miles from Cape Flattery east to Neah Bay, would provide additional protection for bottomfish and halibut in the area while establishing a world-class destination for divers.

That new proposed rule, as well as more than 100 other proposals, is available on the department’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/rule_proposals/index.htm. Printed copies of the proposals are available by contacting WDFW’s Fish Program at (360) 902-2700.

Other conservation measures within the package of proposed sportfishing rules would:

* Prohibit the harvest of all species of “unclassified” marine fish and invertebrates – such as blennies, tide pool sculpins, starfish, sand dollars and shorecrabs – which can either be found on Washington’s beaches or in nearshore waters. The proposal does not prohibit collecting empty shells from any species.

* Develop a set of protective measures for rockfish, including prohibiting retention of rockfish in marine areas 6 through 13 and closing the retention of bottomfish in waters deeper than 20 fathoms in marine areas 4 (east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line) through 13.

* Close fishing seasons that allow retention of hatchery-reared steelhead a month earlier on a stretch of the Skagit River and two weeks earlier on portions of several other north Puget Sound rivers including the Pilchuck, Raging, Skykomish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Stillaguamish, Nooksack and north, south and middle Nooksack rivers, as well as Pilchuck creek. All of those rivers would close to retention of hatchery steelhead at the end of the day on Feb. 15 under proposals designed to further efforts to conserve and restore Puget Sound wild steelhead, which are listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.

* Prohibit the retention of wild steelhead on the Green (Duwamish), Pysht and Hoko rivers. The proposals are designed to protect wild steelhead on the three rivers, where wild runs have recently been in decline.

* Move the annual opening date for wild steelhead retention on coastal streams to Feb. 16. Changing the starting date – currently Dec. 1 – on those streams where wild steelhead retention is allowed would help protect the early portion of the run.

* Require the use of single-point, barbless hooks for salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River from the mouth of the river to McNary Dam. Requiring the use of single-point, barbless hooks would make it easier for anglers to release fish that cannot be retained.

* Close fisheries on a significant number of small streams that drain into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the rest of Puget Sound to protect juvenile anadromous fish. The proposal also calls for the department to list in the sportfishing rules pamphlet all those rivers and streams along the Strait and Puget Sound that would be open for fishing, rather than noting those that are closed.

* Change the maximum size limit for retaining lingcod from 40 inches to 36 inches in marine areas 5 through 11 and 13. The proposal, designed to protect female lingcod that mature at larger sizes than males, would establish a 26-inch minimum and 36-inch maximum size limit on lingcod for anglers and spearfishers in those marine areas.

* Prohibit anglers from using lead weights weighing less than half an ounce or lead jigs measuring less than 1.5 inches while fishing at 13 lakes where common loons breed. The intent of the proposal is to protect common loons from ingesting small lead fishing gear lost by anglers – a major cause of loon mortality in Washington. Other proposed sportfishing rules include:

* Changing the harvest schedule for Dungeness crab from Wednesdays through Saturdays to Fridays through Mondays in marine areas 6, 7, 8-1, 8-2, 9, 10, 11 and 12. The proposal also would reduce the daily limit of Dungeness crab in all areas of Puget Sound from five to four, allowing WDFW to provide crabbing opportunities on Saturdays and Sundays without quickly exceeding harvest targets.

* A revised list of waters where a Columbia River Endorsement will be required, along with a fishing license, for adult salmon and steelhead anglers on the Columbia River and its tributaries. The revision also changes the date the endorsement will be required from Jan. 1, 2010, to April 1, 2010.

* Opening Marine Area 5 to spearfishing for rockfish. The proposed retention rules for spearfishers would be the same as those for anglers fishing for rockfish with a hook and line in Marine Area 5.

Comments can be submitted by mail to WDFW Rules Coordinator Lori Preuss at Lori.Preuss@dfw.wa.gov or 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA, 98501.

In addition, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is scheduled to conduct a public hearing on the proposals at its Dec. 4-5 meeting in Olympia. Written testimony can also be submitted during that meeting.

guess whos a skin diver

Fish and Wildlife Commission

David Jennings

Governor Gregoire appointed David to the Commission in June 2009. David has a Bachelor of Science in Forest Resources in Wildlife Management and a Masters of Public Health in Biostatistics. He works as an Environmental Public Health professional.

David volunteers with a number of conservation organizations including Black Hills Audubon Society and the Gifford Pinchot Task Force. He has served on several state and federal advisory boards addressing wildlife and habitat issues, including WDFW’s Wildlife Diversity Advisory Council, the U.S. Forest Service’s Southwest Washington Provincial Advisory Council, and the North Gifford Pinchot Resource Advisory Committee.

David is an avid birder, wildlife watcher, and scuba diver. He is a member of REEF’s Pacific Northwest Advanced Assessment Team and helps conduct underwater surveys of marine fish and invertebrates from the Salish Sea down to Monterey Bay. David lives in Olympia with his wife, Jan.

(CURRENT TERM: June 18, 2009 - Dec. 31, 2014)

Sounds like spearfishing is the new C&R. Washington Spearfishers Coalition.....perfect!

Tiger, China and Canary Rockfish: help protect their habitat
Posted October 4th, 2009 by Biodiversity_Guy
The Washington State Fish and Wildlife Commission is considering establishing an underwater park out at the tip of the Olympic Peninsula (Neah Bay) for scuba divers and to protect an amazing area of high species diversity. They need to hear from lots of folks from around the country, as a major consideration for doing this is to increase ecotourism to this part of Washington State.

Please email the Dept of Fish and Wildlife requesting they establish an underwater park within that portion of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary lying within the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Tell them to protect this national treasure by placing it off limits to fishing and invertebrate harvesting.

Comments should be sent to WDFW Rules Coordinator Lori Preuss at Lori.Preuss@dfw.wa.gov Comments are due by December 1st, 2009.

To see what Tiger, China and Canary rockfish look like, go to http://biodiversityguy.smugmug.com/

Details:
That small portion of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary lying within the Straits of Juan de Fuca is home to a very special assemblage of marine rockfish species. I am not aware of anywhere else in the continental United States where one can easily encounter Tiger, China, Canary, Quillback, Yellowtail, Black and Blue rockfish species. It is also home to amazing creatures such as basket stars and giant pacific octopi, kelp and krill, and an astounding diversity of soft corals, sponges, anemones and other marine invertebrates.

Long-lived species of rockfish cannot easily support intense fishing pressures. Black, China and Tiger rockfish live to be 50, 75 and over 110 years, respectively. Even when rockfish are not directly targeted, they are often taken accidentally as bycatch when anglers are fishing for lingcod, halibut, Cabezon and other sportsfish. Because they have a swim bladder full of gas, when they are rapidly brought to the surface the swim bladder expands and they are unable to swim back down, even in a catch and release setting.

For this reason conservationists are working to create an ecological reserve within that portion of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary lying within the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

Such a marine protection area will not only protect a portion of the population of these sensitive species, it will also help bring national and international attention to the wealth of fish and invertebrate species found in Washington State’s waters. The assemblage of rockfish that can be seen there is the most diverse in all of Washington’s waters, so designating this area will be a great boon to state ecotourism efforts.

The ecological value of protected reserves such as this is clear. As documented in the publication The Science of Marine Reserves, 2nd edition, published by the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO), “no fishing” reserves increase the biomass, density, body size and species diversity within their borders. Some of the most important benefits occur beyond the borders of reserves. Boosts in growth, reproduction and biodiversity can replenish fished areas when young and adults move out of the reserve. Studies from Alaska demonstrate that lingcod tagged within a reserve moved more than 50 miles out of the reserve before being recaptured.

Please take a couple of minutes and submit a brief email. Your help is requested and needed to help us make the case for marine conservation!

Please forward this information to other interested individuals and organizations.

No worries, CCA will surely prevent this from happening!