Get R Done!

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WDFW has assembled a new, and very cool team to work in region 6.

They are just hitting the ground with some big challenges to face.

Right now we are setting up for yet another fall salmon catastrophe on the Quillayute system, and it is totally preventable.

But only if fisheries managers get focused on it, and stay focused on it .

Quillayute river summer and fall Silver and king salmon will soon be getting stuck in the lower river due to changing river conditions and weather patterns.

The fish get stuck by the thousands in long shallow pools. And, last year WDFW and Co-managers allowed massive over fishing to occur while these fish were most vulnerable.
So few fish survived to spawn that that many residents reported the worst salmon return in living memory.

Without a clear plan in place well in advance we are likely to repeat this scenario yet again. Both on the Quillayute, and to a degree, the Hoh.

You can email here, [email protected] and say something like “Please look out for region 6 salmon this fall!”

You could also send an email to the director. [email protected]

There are tons of tools managers can use to prevent over harvest before the rain. Some of these include the following.

Full closure of the Quillayute until the fish have free access to the main tributaries.
This has been done a few times in years past, it is a blunt tool, and disenfranchises many fishermen, but it works.

Creating sanctuary zones where no fishing is allowed until sufficient rains.
In 2015 State Federal and Tribal managers agreed to set a no fishing Zone in the Quillayute from the Sol Duc Bridge to just below the Quillayute river resort.

Thousands of fish were able to safely await fall rains here while tribal, subsistence and sport anglers fished elsewhere.

This solution was awesome, however the fish no longer seem to concentrate here like they used to, preferring lower river holding water most seasons. So it would probably require two closed areas, plus a prohibition on motor use in those areas.

Reducing sport limits makes a bigger difference than you might think. A one fish limit gets boats off the river more quickly, reducing encounters on non target fish.

Preventing guides from keeping limits when guiding could save hundreds of wild kings a year.

Actually counting fish heading up the Sol Duc and Bogacheil rivers and not opening fisheries until escapement is reached.
This may not prove particularly difficult. The fish are clearly visible when they head up the Quillayute. A camera on the bridge and maybe a white patch on the bottom would give a pretty solid idea of when the fish start to move. Or you could just look over the side.

This is what it looks like when they start moving, so, you can kinda tell

Any of these tools , or others, could work
They will however require a timely start, and patience in getting all the managers comfortable with the situation.
I actually don’t believe you can understand this situation without looking at the river and its obstacles in person, hopefully our new managers will try that.
Last year WDFW ignored this disaster despite public outcry. My hope is that the new personal at region 6 will come look, see the problem, and take real steps to get ahead of it.

The fish will likely be stuck the Quillayute for months, starting in September, until we get a sustained rain storm that drops at least three inches in two days, or several weeks of steady rain

This rain often does not arrive until November.
Even a week of poorly regulated fishing during the period between September 15 and the first solid rain could have dire results.

It should be noted in the last 8 years or so the Quillayute river has undergone dramatic changes.

One needs to look no farther than the beautiful new boat ramp to see evidence of this.

The new boat ramp was needed because of the enormous gravel and silt loads that came down from the Bogacheil. It obscured the old ramp with a river bar of over an acre.

It also deposited this gravel and silt down river. Building up fish blocking gravel bars in several other spots down river.

It is also clear that the entrance to the Sol Duc river is becoming increasingly restricted as the water undercuts the Mora Rd. bridge piling.

The Quillayute tribe is engaged in an historic river estuary restoration project. This project could offer a great opportunity for study and re-evaluation of Quillayute river seasonal fish passage.

There are lots of steps that could help, but we need to start now,

Jim Kerr

Rain Coast Guides

Forks Wa