DRAFT Comprehensive Evaluation of the Willapa Bay Salmon Management Policy C-3622, 2015-2018 (Nov 2020)

The Willapa Bay Salmon Management Policy (C-3622) was adopted by the Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC and/or Commission) in June of 2015. The adaptive management section of Policy C-3622 directed staff to provide a comprehensive review on the implementation and performance of the Policy upon the completion of transition period (e.g. 2019), referred to as phase one (e.g. 2015 to 2018). The review will focus on whether the provisions of the Policy were implemented and whether the stated purpose and objectives of the Policy were successfully achieved in phase one.

The intent of this review is to assist the Commission in their evaluation of a) whether the Policy was successful in achieving the stated objectives, principles, and provisions; b) areas where the Policy failed or has not been working well, and c) to provide information that might help explain reasons why certain expected outcomes may not have occurred. The intent can be abbreviated as follows: Has the Policy been implemented as written, and what has occurred as a result of Policy changes?

The analytical approach was to provide information and analysis on each of the sections of the Policy. The purpose and guiding principles will be covered in the section titled General Fisheries Management, while species-specific guidance and adaptive management provisions of the Policy will be covered in the corresponding sections of this report: Fall Chinook salmon Management, Coho Management, Chum Management, and Adaptive Management. The final section of the report will cover the economics of the fishing industry, recreational and commercial, within Willapa Bay.