2 weeks Ago By Brian Cook
As the waves of anticipation settle among Washington's angling community, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), alongside tribal co-manager, pinned down the 2025-2026 salmon fishing seasons at the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) meeting in San Jose, with inklings of déjà vu for fishers given the similar prospects to last season's offerings, according to an announcement by WDFW.With conservation in mind, the seasons are aligned with efforts to nurse endangered stocks back to health; Kelly Susewind, WDFW Director, stressed that maintaining a balance between recreational fishing and ongoing recovery initiatives for threatened species is key, "It's important that we ensure all salmon fisheries are consistent with ongoing efforts to protect and rebuild salmon stocks, especially those listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA)," he told WDFW observers and the decisions this year were influenced by the Puget Sound Harvest Management Plan which, since February last year, has been under review by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).Nevertheless, the projections for the Puget Sound region are promising, with an expected pink salmon bonanza foretelling a 70% boost from the 10-year average; these silvery swimmers are projected to make their third largest return on record, delighting anglers with permits burning holes in their tackle boxes.
Looking closer, the granular data indicates the Green and Nisqually rivers as potential hotspots for the upsurge in escapement numbers, marking a welcome uptick from previous tallies, as pink daily limits now have a plus two raise for all inner-marine precincts except Marine Area 8–2, until September's end.Ocean mavens will find solace in the Chinook quota bump to 53,750 and a marked coho quota reaching 99,720; this isn’t chump change by any measurement, and Marine Areas 1 through 4 are tossing the lines seven days a week, chronicles the PFMC website, ensuring a fair crack at the stock before the state impositions kaput to the fishing frenzy if quotas are dutifully netted before the seasons' cessation, making every cast a potentially triumphal strike. True to form, freshwater fisheries aren't left in the dust, with the Baker River's sockeye forecast at a healthy 60,214, nudging the possibility of another summer's sports frenzy on Lake Wenatchee if the fish play ball and meet the spawning benchmarks.
Environmental variables continue to weave through the narrative with the looming specter of climate change, asserted Ed Johnstone, NWIFC chairman; the shifting dynamics of oceanic and fluvial temperatures aren't glossing over anyone's gaze, and his words echo the high stakes, “Climate change also continues to be a huge concern, because of the threats to salmon from warming temperatures in oceans and the streams they return to spawn in,” he disclosed to WDFW affiliates. Anticipation now hinges on the NMFS's nod to the drafted regulations, with fishers eyeballing early June for the official word..
