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The state Fish and Wildlife Commission ruled yesterday that wild steelhead caught between April 1, 2004, and March 31, 2006, must be released.
The commission, by a 5-3 vote, added to its 2004-05 sport-fishing rules that any steelhead not marked by a missing adipose fin and a scar must be released.
Commissioner R. Peter Van Gytenbeek asked for a permanent ban on wild steelhead retention. That motion, as well as another for a six-year moratorium, failed before the commission scaled the ban back to two years.
Click read more for links to both the Seattle Times full story and WDFW news release
"In this case, I think a half a loaf is better than no loaf at all," Van Gytenbeek said in a release. "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 chairman Will Roehl disagreed. The commission is working on a new plan for steelhead management, tailored to specific stocks, he said.
"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 the commission."
When releasing steelhead or salmon that cannot be retained under state law, anglers will have to follow new handling procedures. The ruling prohibits removing fish caught in lakes or streams from the water or pulling them into a boat in Puget Sound before release.
To provide greater protection for Columbia River sturgeon, the commission extended the closed area below Bonneville Dam approximately 2 miles downstream to Marker 85 from May 1 to July 31. All sturgeon fishing — from boats or banks — will be prohibited in the expanded closure area, where the fish tend to congregate.
The annual harvest of sturgeon for personal use was reduced from 10 fish to five statewide.
Recreational crabbers, meanwhile, can expect greater certainty in the timing of their seasons. For the first time since 2000, the commission set opening dates for each marine area rather than rely on tests to determine when the crab have finished their molt.
Improved data on molting periods enabled the commission to set opening dates this year for crab fisheries in all 13 marine areas of Puget Sound and the coast.
"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."
The commission also adopted a three-month catch-and-release fishery for trout and other game fish on Cedar River.
Commissioners declined action on banning treble hooks in saltwater fisheries, and on prohibiting use of motorized vessels on Satsop and Wynoochee rivers.
Mark Yuasa: 206-464-8780 or myuasa@seattletimes.com. Mark Yuasa article in Seattle Times
WDFW news release
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