New Fishing Regulations Out Soon! Department Rules Overturned.

This summer, in Washington the salmon fishing was good.  In fact, better than it has been in recent memory.  Now, the coho are running strong.  Fishing is a highly regulated activity in Washington state.  The idea here is conservation.  But what happens to restricted fishing schedules when the fish are more plentiful than ever.  That’s the thrust of Puget Sound Harvesters Ass’n v. Washington State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife.   

Here is the background:  Association representing non-treaty salmon gillnet fishermen brought action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief under the Administrative Procedure Act, claiming that the fall chum salmon fishing schedule set by two rules adopted by Department of Fish and Wildlife was arbitrary and capricious. The Superior Court, Thurston County, H. Christopher Wickham, J., declared the two rules to be invalid as arbitrary and capricious, and ordered Department to pay attorney fees and costs. Department appealed.

The Department lost. The court of appeals aptly determined that rules regarding the fall chum salmon fishing schedule by allocating fishing opportunities between gillnetters and purse seiners without regard to the effect on fish harvest is arbitrary and capricious.

The harvesters called the court’s attention to the inflexibility of the rule with respect to run volumes.  The court noted, “[t]his information demonstrates that fishing opportunity is generally proportional to harvest opportunity. To disconnect one from the other on this record is not supportable.”


The takeaway means a new rule for salmon fishing restrictions and gillnetting allocations.  Watch for comment period to get your say in the mix.  This is an important matter to Washingtonian fishery business.