2002 Sport Catch Report

The Washington State Sport Catch Report was first published in 1967. The report originally provided salmon catch estimates, which were and still are based on data from catch record cards (punch cards). In 1975, marine fish sport harvest estimates were added to the report, followed by shellfish estimates in 1976. Marine fish and intertidal shellfish sport harvest estimates are based on field and creel surveys. In 1994, with the merger of the departments of Fisheries and Wildlife, steelhead sport harvest estimates were added to the report. Now, catch record card data are collected for salmon, sturgeon, steelhead, Dungeness crab and halibut. The card data is supplemented with field or creel survey data or telephone surveys where available to improve recreational harvest estimate accuracy. The sport harvest estimates for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, marine fish and shellfish are produced at varying times of each year. For this reason, coupled with an increase in the number of catch record cards issued, budget, and staffing constraints, the 2002 edition of the Washington State Sport Catch Report is being published in April, 2008.

The 2002 sport estimates reflect harvest from April 1, 2002, through March 31, 2003. Historically, salmon, sturgeon, halibut, marine fish and shellfish estimates were made on a calendar year basis from January 1 through December 31. Steelhead estimates were summarized from May 1 through the next April 30 to better capture the results of steelhead â€�"run years”. Effective January 1, 1999, the sport license system adopted an April 1 to March 31 license year for all species. To adjust to the new reporting time frames, the 1999 sport report included 15 months of salmon and sturgeon catch and 11 months of steelhead catch (May 1, 1999 â€" March 31, 2000). When comparing past years’ sport harvest estimate tables, please note the changes in the license structure and reporting year as described above.

Sport licenses and Catch Record Cards

In 2002, the following licenses and catch record cards were required to fish in Washington:

• A saltwater license was required for resident and non resident anglers 16 years of age and over. This license allowed the holder to fish for finfish species in saltwater. This license was available in resident annual, resident senior (ages 70 and over), and non-resident annual. In addition, a free catch record card was required for all anglers of all ages to fish for salmon, steelhead, for halibut in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and for sturgeon in the Columbia River, Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay and all tributaries of these three systems.
  
  
• A freshwater license was required for resident anglers 16 years of age and over, to fish for finfish species existing in freshwater. This license was available in resident annual, resident senior (ages 70 and over), and non-resident annual. A free catch record card was also required for anglers of all ages to fish for salmon, steelhead and for sturgeon in Columbia River, Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay and all tributaries of these three systems.
  
  
• A shellfish/seaweed license was required for resident and non-resident fishers 16 years of age and older. This license allowed the holder to fish for crab, gooseneck barnacles, mussels, octopus, scallops, oysters, razor clams, sea cucumbers, clams, squid and seaweed. A free catch record card was required for crabbers of all ages to fish for Dungeness crab, in Puget Sound.
  
  
• A combination license was available for annual and two-day resident fishers and non-resident fishers 15 years of age and older to fish for all legal species in all water of the state.

Catch record cards were significantly changed beginning in 2000. Previously, separate cards were issued for each species group: salmon, sturgeon, steelhead, or halibut. In 2000, these four species groups plus Dungeness crab were combined onto one card record document. A catch record card was issued at no charge to anyone wishing to fish for any of these groups.

In 2001 WDFW implemented the Washington Interactive Licensing Data (WILD) system to electronically capture recreational license issuance information at the point of sale. The catch record card remained the same paper document distributed by sport license vendors, but demographic data about persons receiving the cards became available almost immediately.

Table 1 lists license sales from April 1, 2002, to March 31, 2003, based on a direct count of sales. Tables 2, 3, and 4 list the estimated number of salmon, sturgeon and steelhead catch record cards issued. Note that the number of catch record cards issued shown in these tables are estimated from the catch record card databases, and are not directly comparable to the license sales number. These numbers cannot be compared because anglers under 15 and over 70 are required to obtain a catch record card but not a license. Also, not all dealers returned their catch record card issuance stubs, nor did all anglers return their catch record cards, therefore, correction factors were applied.

Methods

Sport harvest estimates are made in Washington State using various methods. These include catch record cards for salmon, steelhead, and sturgeon statewide, and for halibut in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Estimates from catch record cards are available six months to one year after the end of the season. Creel, telephone interviews and mail surveys are carried out for salmon, sturgeon, steelhead, halibut, and shellfish in areas where management requires more timely estimates. Creel surveys consist of checking anglers who are exiting the fishery and asking specific questions about catch and effort. The creel survey estimates for some species and areas are substituted for catch record card estimates (this is noted in the tables). Dungeness crab estimates are based on creel and phone estimates.

The sport catch record card is used to produce the annual sport harvest estimates for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, and halibut. Anglers holding in-sample cards are sent reminders to return their CRC’s. Harvest summed from returned in-sample cards is expanded to account for the un-sampled cards (75%) and unreturned cards. A bias adjustment factor is applied in some areas and species to account for successful anglers returning cards at a higher rate than unsuccessful anglers. Creel survey data are substituted for CRC data when available. The preliminary sport harvest estimates are sent to WDFW and Tribal biologists statewide for review. After review comments are compiled and investigated, final sport harvest estimates are prepared and distributed.

The methods used produce estimates of sport harvest, which have some level of uncertainty. This uncertainty, or variance, is estimated and expressed with confidence levels, which are not provided in this report. These variance estimates are available upon request.

Ocean Catch Data

Sport catch data from coastal areas 1 â€" 4 were reported using â€�"port sampling” (creel survey) catch estimates. Such estimates were derived by monitoring daily landings at four coastal ports: Ilwaco, Westport, La Push, and Neah Bay. Catch is reported in the area where the fish was caught and not the area where it was landed.

Statistical Months and Statistical Weeks

Some catch data (i.e. salmon and bottomfish) are reported using statistical months or statistical weeks. Statistical weeks (defined as Monday-Sunday) are consecutively numbered weeks beginning on January 1st and continuing through week 53 or 54, ending on December 31st. The first and last weeks of any year usually contain less than 7 days. Statistical months are made up of a set number of statistical weeks, which approximate calendar months but do not coincide with calendar month start and end dates. For example, in 2002, the statistical month of January begins January 1st and ends February 3rd and the statistical month of February starts on February 4th and ends March 3rd. Due to the differences between calendar and statistical months, some catch may be reported during what appears to be a closed period.

Salmon

Annual sport salmon catch estimates for 1971 through 2002 are shown in Table 6. Between April 1, 2002, and March 31, 2003 a total of 238,612 salmon were caught in marine areas, and 306,424 salmon were caught in freshwater. The marine totals by species, as shown in Table 7, are: 89,711 chinook; 142,648 coho; 5,644 chum; 236 pink; 250 jacks; and 98 sockeye. Freshwater species breakdowns are: 99,361 chinook; 137,139 coho; 19,570 chum; 15 pink; 36,539 sockeye; 12,486 jacks (all species combined); and 1,314 unknown salmon species. Totals for unknown areas are: 1,811 chinook; 3,025 coho; 591 chum; 90 pink; 271 sockeye; 230 jacks; and 425 unknown salmon species.

Catch record cards are used to estimate sport salmon catch in marine and freshwater areas with some exceptions. In marine areas, creel survey estimates were substituted for the catch record card estimates in ocean areas 1-4 (excluding area 2.1 Willapa Bay and area 2.2 Grays Harbor), and in area 5 during August 1-September 30. In freshwater areas, creel survey estimates were substituted for the catch record card estimates in the Lower Columbia River for Februaryâ€"October, the Klickitat River for Aprilâ€"May, the Little White Salmon River for May, and the Wind River for Mayâ€"June. All other estimates are from catch record cards.

Sturgeon

On the new combined sport catch record card, sturgeon fishers were required to record their catch statewide. The total sport harvest for 2002, based on creel surveys and catch record card returns, was 25,661 fish. Of this total, 22,702 white sturgeon and 38 green sturgeon came from the Columbia River and Snake River systems combined (Table 30). Catch from coastal rivers (including Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor) totaled 1,753 white and 24 green; and Puget Sound rivers and marine areas produced 438 white sturgeon. For monthly catch information see Table 30.

Steelhead

Harvest estimates for sport-caught summer and winter steelhead are based on catch record card returns. Steelhead caught during the months of May through October are considered �"summer-runs,” designated SSH. Steelhead caught from November through April are considered �"winter-runs,” designated WSH, with the exception of steelhead caught above Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, where all steelhead are considered �"summer-runs,”, because of run and spawn timing.

Table 34 presents steelhead sport harvest estimates for the 2002-2003 season geographically by stream and river system. Monthly estimate totals are given for marked and unmarked steelhead.

Marine Fish

Marine fish are those species of fish which live their entire lives in salt water. There are four general groups of marine fish for management purposes: 1) bottomfish, which are species such as rockfish, lingcod and most species of sole and flounder; 2) forage fish, which are small, schooling fish such as herring and smelt; 3) tunas and mackerels; 4) Pacific halibut.

The recreational catch of bottomfish and halibut in ocean waters (Catch Areas 1-4) is estimated from marine surveys (Table 38 and 39). The estimates are made for each of the four main coastal fishing areas: Ilwaco, Westport, La Push and Neah Bay.

The Puget Sound (Catch Areas 5-13) catch of bottomfish, excluding halibut, is estimated using a combination of two surveys: a creel survey of anglers to determine the catch rate and species composition and the salmon catch record card system to determine total fishing effort. It is important to note that an estimate of the bottomfish catch in Puget Sound is possible only when salmon fishing is open. Any bottomfish harvest in areas and times when salmon fishing is closed is excluded from these estimates. The totals shown on Table 39 are underestimates of the true catch, which is likely to be considerably higher in some areas.

The halibut catch in Puget Sound is estimated using a special survey of halibut catch record card holders. All persons fishing for halibut in Puget Sound Areas 5-13 are required to obtain a catch record card and record each halibut they catch. At the end of the halibut season, a subsample of card holders is telephoned and asked to report their annual catch of halibut. This number is expanded to estimate the total halibut catch in Puget Sound. Due to the nature of this system, no estimate of halibut catch by catch record area is made and only the Puget Sound total is given. The recreational catch of forage fish is not routinely monitored and no harvest estimate is available.

Shellfish

Puget Sound recreational clam and oyster harvest estimates are shown in Table 41. Harvest totals for Manila and native littleneck clams, butter clams, cockles, softshell clams, horse clams, geoducks and oysters are shown for seven areas. Estimates show 151,511 sport harvester trips gathered 414,995 total pounds of clams, and 1,014,590 oysters in 2002.

The Hood Canal sport shrimp fishery harvest is reported in Table 42. A total of 71,295 pounds of shrimp were caught in during the four days of the season. Puget Sound shrimpers caught 27,182 pounds of shrimp between April and August. The sport crab fishery in the Puget Sound areas is summarized in Table 44. Crabbers harvested an estimated 1,339,073 pounds of Dungeness crab.

In the fall of 2002 and the spring of 2003 razor clamming was prohibited by the Washington State Department of Health (WDOH) due to significantly high levels of Domoic Acid. Domoic Acid is a naturally occurring toxin produced by a microscopic marine diatom called Pseudonitzschia. Razor clams feeding on Pseudonitzschia may concentrate the toxin and become toxic to humans. Short notice for emergency closures or cancellations due to marine toxins are a result of the specific sampling protocol established by WDOH. The goal to have a resource safe for human consumption requires sampling no more than 7 days before the proposed opening by WDFW. Every effort is made to expedite the sample transport and analysis. There are still the limitations of low tide availability before the opening and the fact that it takes approximately 48 hours from the time the clams are harvested until the results can be announced. There is also the time required to use mass media to report any closure. New methods are being examined to possibly expand these time periods and still ensure that the clams are safe to eat.