Bottomfish to close in Area 3 & 4

[robodad]

OLYMPIA - Ocean waters off the north coast of Washington will close to recreational bottomfishing after midnight Thursday (July 26) to protect yelloweye rockfish, a species federally recognized as overfished.

The closure, announced today by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), affects sport fishing for rockfish, lingcod, Pacific cod, and all other bottomfish in Marine Area 3 off La Push and the portion of Marine Area 4 west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line off Neah Bay.

Heather Reed, a WDFW fish biologist, said the closure is necessary to avoid exceeding quotas on yelloweye rockfish established under a federal stock-rebuilding plan. While it is illegal to retain yelloweye, Reed said anglers sometimes intercept the species while fishing for other bottomfish.

"Anglers took most of the quota as bycatch during the popular north coast halibut openings in May," Reed said. "That didn’t leave us any margin for bottomfish seasons off the north coast for the rest of the year."

Seasons for most bottomfish species are generally open year-round.

Reed noted that the early closure applies only to Marine Area 3 and the coastal portion of Marine Area 4 west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line where the federal quota and rebuilding plan are in place.

So WTF does this mean, Anglers took most of the quota during the May halibut fishery but its illegal to retain them so they close the entire place down............??  This sh!t pisses me off 

[Kola16]

The Sound sucks even more. We can't keep any rockfish  WDFW will never make sense.

[RB]

Yeah I just read this too what the heck??? So that means no Ling fishing either?? West of Bonilla WOW that was the one bright spot left on a good day the average Joe with a decent boat could go around the point and get some good black bass if he got his silvers

[Mtn.Ghost]

Once again the WDFW is We need a Revolution!!!! How did we surpass a quota on a species that we cant even keep even as by catch? Besides how many of you have seen hundreds or thousands of yellow eye dead and floating that would warrant an over quota closure of entire marine areas? I don't know it all but in MA 3-4 I don't catch yellow eye in the 80-350 foot water that I fish for lings and halibut. I do know some people fish halibut in the 500'+ zone were yellow eye are far more concentrated even at that, I still call "*censored*" on the state and the #'s they come up with and pin on the Sportsman  Sooner than later We the Sportsman will be the endangered species in this state and "THEY" wont give a *censored* when were finally extinct "THEY" will just find a way to tax us for that too              

[benhuntin]

Is this for all water depths?

[Sneaky]

all depths in area 3 and west of the line area 4.   

[sirmissalot]

Not good

[nwhunter]

Now the bottom draggers will have it all to themselves!!! What a joke to punish the sporties when the commercial tribal boats bring the yellow eye in by the hundreds and its ok. This is why when the checkers ask at the dock we have never ever released a yellow eye because in reality it doesnt matter what we tell them they have there own agenda(wdfw fisheries). nwhunter

[robodad]

Now the bottom draggers will have it all to themselves!!! What a joke to punish the sporties when the commercial tribal boats bring the yellow eye in by the hundreds and its ok. This is why when the checkers ask at the dock we have never ever released a yellow eye because in reality it doesnt matter what we tell them they have there own agenda(wdfw fisheries). nwhunter

I mentioned this before but there are hundreds of fish caught out there that are NOT Yelloweye or Canary Rockfish and perfectly legal to keep but they are released and reported as Yelloweye or Canary Rockfish just because they have some red or orange in them and count towards the "Bycatch Quota" Perhaps a little better education as to exactly what fish we are catching is in order. I don't believe the checkers have any agenda, they are college students for the most part recording what WE tell them and passing it on to the department of miss managment !! 

[benhuntin]

this is a bunch of $hit I just bought a boat, and was heading for lapush the next 4 weekends

[dogtuk]

Now its open again until Sept 4