Chinook catch tops expectations

OLYMPIA – The state Department of Fish and Wildlife said the Makah Tribe has caught 20,000 chinook salmon in the Strait of Juan de Fuca this winter – 40 times what they were expected to take.

Under state guidelines, the Makah’s winter catch was supposed to be around 500 in the areas of Neah Bay, Sekiu and Port Angeles.

“I’m not sure what the effect will be, but it doesn’t look good and we had assumed that the catch was going to be 500 fish,” Phil Anderson, a state Fish and Wildlife salmon policy coordinator, told the Seattle Times.

Fish managers may have to adjust the number of chinook that can be caught by other commercial, tribal and sports fishermen in the 2005-06 seasons to make up for the Makah’s large catch, officials said.

Fish and Wildlife will unveil Puget Sound, coastal Washington and Columbia River salmon forecasts March 1 in Olympia.

The final salmon fishing season for 2005-06 will be announced April 4-8 in Tacoma.

Makah Fisheries Manager Russell Svec told the Associated Press on Tuesday he needed more information before commenting on the Times’ report.