Dungeness crab numbers are down this year
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, June 14, 2017
By Wayne Kruse
For The Herald
After enjoying three productive seasons in a row, recreational crab grabbers may have to face reality this summer. Test fisheries show the Dungeness populations are down by perhaps as much as 30 percent from last year. Don Velasquez, local crab manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said predictions for a lower recreational catch this season run pretty much “across the board” in Puget Sound.
“I know that’s not what people like to hear,” Velasquez said, “but that’s what the data shows.”
The Puget Sound recreational harvest record was set in 2015, and last season wound up in second place. But just because this year is not forecast to win a blue ribbon doesn’t mean crabbing won’t be good. It will, and Velasquez said Marine Areas 7, 8-l, 8-2, and 9 should be the most consistent crab fisheries in the Sound.
The 2017 season kicks off Friday in Marine Areas 4 (Neah Bay), 5 (Sekiu) and 11 (Tacoma), and runs through Sept. 4. On June 24, Hood Canal comes on line, through Sept. 4. On July 1, most of the remainder of the eastern Strait and Puget Sound open through Sept. 4, with the exception of Area 7 South (San Juan Islands, which opens July 15 through Sept. 30) and Area 7 North (Gulf of Georgia, open Aug. 17 through Sept. 30). Areas 7 North and South open later to protect molting crab.
In all areas of Puget Sound, recreational crabbing is scheduled Thursdays through Mondays. Crab must be recorded on a catch-record card immediately upon harvest.
Seasons for the upcoming fishery are posted on the state’s crab fishing website, http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/crab. The site includes regulation details, as well as an educational video on crabbing.
Shad
Anglers can usually depend on pink salmon and shad to provide a million or more fish each year, pinks in Puget Sound and shad in the Columbia River. But not this year.
The pink run is expected to be substantially depressed, and even shad are forecast to have a down year.
State biologist Joe Hymer in Vancouver said the dam count over Bonneville reached 88,000 shad Saturday, not a very good comparison with the 600,000 last year on the same date, or the 750,000 fish average on that date.
Hymer said high, cold water in the Columbia could be slowing the run. But people must still be catching fish, because he said almost 400 shad anglers were counted along the rock rip-rap on the Washington side, immediately below Bonneville, at one point last weekend. You can bet there wouldn’t have been close to that number if no one was putting shad in the bag.
Hunter education
All hunters born after Jan. 1, 1972, must complete a hunter-education course to purchase a hunting license, and now’s the time to beat the Autumn rush.
“As fall hunting seasons draw near, seats in these courses fill quickly,” said David Whipple, hunter education division manager for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Courses are taught throughout the year. To find a course and learn more about hunter education requirements, visit the hunter ed webpage at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/huntered/classes/basic.php.
The department offers both traditional and online options to complete the requirement. The advantages of the traditional classroom experience include direct person-to-person instruction from certified volunteer instructors, Whipple said. The online course offers the same content, but on the student’s schedule. Those who take the online course are required to complete an in-person field skills evaluation led by certified instructors.
The department will be offering a field skills evaluation course from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on National Hunting and Fishing Day, Sept. 23, at Camp Pigott, located at 24225 Woods Creek Road in Snohomish. Preregistration at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/huntered/classes/basic.php is required.
The National Hunting and Fishing Day event also features activities for hunters, anglers and other outdoor people, including: opportunities for youth to shoot bows, air rifles and firearms under close instructor supervision; door prize drawings and lunch for the first 500 youth attendees and accompanying adults; fishing, hunting and conservation-oriented activities, displays and information.
Toss a salmon
Tonight’s meeting of the Everett Steelhead and Salmon Club features a speaker from the Snohomish PUD, talking about reintroducing the process of returning salmon carcasses to the Sultan River. The carcasses provide food for a number of critters, including salmon and steelhead fry. The meeting is at 7 p.m. at the Everett Firemen’s Hall at 2411 Hewitt.
Hanford Reach reg change
Changes to some mid-Columbia summer salmon fishing regulations, not yet in the pamphlet, include the Hanford Reach from the Tri-Cities upstream to Priest Rapids Dam. The changes will be effective Friday through the end of the month, and change the daily limit to six salmon, just two adult hatchery chinook, and no more than three sockeye. All wild chinook must be released.
Baker sockeye issue
An issue concerning the Skokomish Tribe taking Baker Lake sockeye brood stock has come up, with sport fishermen saying the fish should be used to increase the Baker run, not the Skokomish River.
Brett Barkdull, the state’s fish manager in the area, said there is no reason for agitation.
First, the tribe is trying to start a sockeye run in the Skokomish, and wants Baker fish because they are the only indigenous run left in “sharing” numbers.
Second, the tribe wants eggs from about 400 adult sockeye, which Barkdull said are easily available without affecting the size or viability of the Baker run. There are plenty of eggs to go around.
The Reel News reports that there will be a meeting on the issue with state personnel at 6 p.m. on June 29 at Sedro-Woolley High School.
