Marine Areas 8-1,8-2 & 9 Closing To All Salmon Fishing As Of November 13th

Salmon fishing to close temporarily in marine areas 8-1, 8-2 and 9

Action: Marine areas 8-1, 8-2 and 9 closed to salmon fishing, excluding year-round piers.

Effective Date:  Nov. 13, 2017, until further notice.

Species affected: Salmon.

Location:  Marine areas 8-1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island and Skagit Bay), 8-2 (Port Susan and Port Gamble), and 9 (Admiralty Inlet) within Puget Sound, excluding year-round piers.

Reason for action: Before the salmon fishing season started, WDFW and tribal co-managers agreed to a limited number of chinook encounters – retaining or releasing fish – anglers are allowed in each of these marine areas. Test fishery data indicates that anglers will quickly meet or exceed the guideline for encounters because of the abundant number of juvenile chinook, which anglers can't retain.

WDFW is closing the salmon season temporarily and will re-open when there are fewer juvenile salmon and more legal-sized salmon available for harvest.

Other information:  WDFW biologists will continue to monitor these fisheries and coordinate with the Puget Sound Sportfishing Advisory Group to determine the most appropriate time to re-open to maximize the fishing opportunity. 

Edmonds Public Fishing Pier is unaffected by this rule change and specific regulations can be found in the Washington Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet.

Information contact: Ryan Lothrop, (360) 902-2808; Mark Baltzell, (360) 902-2807.