Tag Archives: Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
International: BC crab poacher has to pay more than $12,000 in penalties
An almost three-year legal odyssey for a persistent local crab poacher, one that involved three enforcement agencies in two countries, ended in Surrey Provincial Court with a conviction, more than $12,000 in penalties, and a five-year ban on fishing anywhere in B.C. But the offender managed to keep his boat after his Canadian court date, unlike what happened to him in the U.S. legal system. >click to read< 10:10
Crab fishing season delayed by weather, small crabs
Smaller crabs and bad weather are delaying the start of crabbing for Washington and Oregon,,,Fishermen could start setting up their Dungeness crab gear Jan. 1 — a month later than usual — because crab were under the legal size and molted late. That means the loss of the lucrative Christmas market. And even then they couldn’t start pulling traps on Friday, when stormy weekend weather kept some crabbers from harvesting their catch. Steve Manewal, manager of the South Bend Products processing plant in Chinook, didn’t start receiving crab shipments until Saturday afternoon. In the southern third of Oregon Coast and parts of California, the season remains delayed because crabs haven’t met weight requirements yet,,, >click to read<22:54
CDFW – Northern Commercial Dungeness Crab Season Further Delayed in Ocean Waters North of Patrick’s Point, Humboldt County due to Public Health Hazard >click to read<
Washington State replaces nearly half of 6.2 million chinook salmon fry killed at Gig Harbor hatchery
The state will be able to replace nearly half of the 6.2 million chinook salmon fry that died earlier this month when a windstorm knocked out power at a Gig Harbor hatchery. Up to 2.75 million fall chinook fry will be taken from six other state hatcheries for release from Minter Creek and Tumwater Falls in May and June. “This won’t fully replace the salmon lost last week, but it will allow us to put a significant number of fish into these waters next year,” said Kelly Susewind, director of the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife. >click to read<10:06
New Washington DFW director has deep Harbor roots
He grew up hunting and fishing in Grays Harbor County. Now, Kelly Susewind has taken the reigns of the State Department of Fish and Wildlife. It begs the question: After 28 years with Natural Resources, why take on the leadership role in one of the biggest and most criticized agencies in the state? “I debated it, jumping into the fire,” he said. “I had 28 years in at the Department of Ecology, and a passion for natural resources in general. I grew that passion hunting and fishing, and I see the work of this agency as the most important work in the state. I saw it was at a critical point and I like to be where the action is.” >click to read<14:17
Long Beach area crab meat percentage drops
The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife completed third round of preseason Dungeness crab testing Dec. 14 in the Long Beach test stations only. This test collected both crab shell condition and meat recovery data. Results do not bode well for a Dec. 31 start to the season. This third test was conducted at the request of members of the coastal crab industry, to confirm the results of the second round of tests from this same area. click here to read the story 12:42
SEABURY BLAIR JR. | Elwha too clogged for fish to live
KitsapSun – Two days after I hiked the sandy, rocky desolation that used to be Lake Mills, as many as 200,000 chinook salmon were killed in what has to be one of the biggest blunders in the history of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. The year-old salmon were released from the new $16 million Elwha Hatchery run by the state and Lower Elwha Klallam tribe on April 5. Most — if not all — were killed when they tried to swim downstream through the thick gray goop that is the lower Elwha River, created by the removal of two dams built illegally in 1910. continued
