WDFW exploring strict fishery on Naselle

The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife held a North of Falcon meeting on March 28 to discuss salmon fishing rules for the 2024-25 season in Willapa Bay. Escapement estimates continue to be below goals, a factor certain to influence this year’s fishing seasons. The significant development from the meeting and presentation is an extra effort to conserve fish in the Naselle River. One option being explored is requiring any fish snagged between Aug. 1 and Oct. 15 to count toward an angler’s daily limit. “The intent of this idea is really to reduce the snagging behavior and have people not want to use this behavior,” WDFW Region 6 Biologist Erin Witkop said. “And to clarify kind of what that would mean — any fish not legally hooked. For example, dorsal fin, belly, somewhere behind the gill plate.” The rule would require the fish to be immediately released and the anglers to log the fish on their catch card.

WDFW is also exploring limiting fishing from any floating device from the full-spanning concrete diversion at the Naselle Hatchery upward toward the Bighill Bridge. Pre-season projections estimate a 2,800 hatchery Chinook salmon return on the Willapa River, with 2,506 being harvestable; 11,909 hatchery Chinook on the Nemah River, with 8,748 being harvestable; and 13,437 hatchery Chinook on the Naselle River, with 9,769 being harvestable. The projections also estimate 18,898 hatchery coho on the Willapa River, with 17,898 being harvestable, and 46,009 hatchery coho on the Naselle, with 44,509 being harvestable. Naturally spawning Chinook numbers are dismal, with a projection across all three rivers combined only reaching 3,519 — 834 below the goal. Fishermen are required to release non-hatchery Chinook, and seasons are crafted to avoid impacting them. Non-hatchery, natural-spawning coho are doing better than Chinook, with a projected run across all three rivers, hitting 26,126 and 12,526 being harvestable. Chum numbers are also high, with a run across the rivers expected to top 80,390 and 44,990 being harvestable. Draft regulations are expected to be completed over the next month, and the final season setting and regulations are expected in June.