Chinook salmon retention will close in Marine Area 9 at end of the day Aug. 4; Marine Area 10 chinook daily limit will be reduced to 1 fish

OLYMPIA - The recreational chinook salmon fishery in Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) will close to the retention of all chinook salmon at the end of the day on Aug. 4 due to anticipated meeting of the season harvest guidelines in that area. Meanwhile, the chinook salmon daily limit in Marine Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) will be reduced to one (1) chinook in an effort to extend the season through the month of August.

Salmon fishing remains open in Marine Area 9 for coho and pink salmon; all chinook must be released. The daily limit remains 2 coho salmon plus 2 additional pink salmon. Chinook retention remains open from the Edmonds Fishing Pier due to minimal projected impacts to chinook salmon stocks.

The daily limit of 2 hatchery chinook salmon in Marine Area 10 will be reduced to 1 hatchery chinook at the end of the day on Aug. 4. Marine Area 10 salmon anglers may still retain one hatchery chinook salmon daily as part of their daily limit of 2 salmon. Two additional pink salmon may be retained

"We expect to reach our chinook harvest guidelines for Marine Area 9 this Sunday [Aug. 5]," said Puget Sound Recreational Salmon Fishery Manager Ryan Lothrop. "We have enough chinook available under guidelines to allow one more weekend of fishing, but starting Monday, all chinook salmon caught in Area 9 must be released carefully back into Puget Sound," said Lothrop.

Recent creel reports indicate anglers have been harvesting over a chinook per rod in Marine Area 9, an indication of excellent fishing. Fewer chinook salmon have been harvested in Marine Area 10, allowing WDFW fishery managers to reduce the bag limit to extend the season.

"We’re reducing the bag limit in Marine Area 10 to extend chinook fishing throughout August," said Lothrop. "We monitor these fisheries carefully, and the reduction in daily bag limit to one chinook should allow us to keep chinook salmon angling open longer."

Lothrop reminds anglers to always check regulations carefully and that regulations vary within some sub-areas of marine areas 9 and 10.

Anglers should check for updates on WDFW’s Fishing Hotline (360-902-2500) or on our website at http://www.wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/ .