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Council—s salmon technical team reports model runs; states and enforcement consultants offer in-season guidance
Summary
The salmon technical team presented updated modeling that incorporated recent council guidance and identified multiple stocks and areas not meeting management objectives; Washington, Oregon and California offered specific modifications to commercial and recreational alternatives while enforcement consultants recommended regulatory language to harmonize possession rules in split Klamath Management Zone openings.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council received updated salmon model runs from its salmon technical team (STT) and heard region-by-region management guidance and enforcement recommendations for 2025 alternatives.
STT lead Mike O—Farrell summarized supplemental modeling that incorporated council guidance from the previous day. He highlighted areas where alternatives did not meet management objectives, including interior Fraser Thompson coho, Hood Canal stocks, Grays Harbor, and several Lower Columbia River components. He also corrected earlier table entries for Klamath and Sacramento river recreational shares and explained how river recreational impacts were calculated under different harvest-rate assumptions.
States then provided operational guidance for the STT to incorporate before the council—s next salmon check-in. Washington proposed adjustments to commercial and recreational Chinook landing and possession limits, including changes to July limits and season wording in the Westport subarea. Oregon provided modifications to commercial season dates, possession rules tied to coho quotas, and lowered mark-selective coho quotas for some alternatives. California proposed restructured fall fishing cells, September-area limitations intended to reduce potential winter-run impacts, and adjusted Klamath River recreational shares to preserve tribal harvest-share accounting.
The council—s Enforcement Consultants (EC) recommended regulatory text to handle possession inconsistencies in the Klamath Management Zone (KMZ) when the Oregon and California ocean recreational seasons differ. The EC advised prohibiting possession of salmon aboard vessels in an area where the species is closed, regardless of where the fish were taken, and recommended adding language that would make it unlawful for a vessel to have recreational gear in the water while in any area closed to certain salmon species if that vessel possesses that species.
Why it matters: the STT model outputs and state guidance will shape in-season and post-season measures, including trip limits, quotas and area-season structures. EC recommendations aim to harmonize federal and state possession rules in split KMZ openings to reduce enforcement and compliance confusion.
At the meeting close, the STT and EC signaled they could incorporate the council—s guidance into the next STT package; no final rules or council votes on alternatives were taken at this session.
Quotes and sourcing: STT lead Mike O—Farrell summarized the tables and corrections; enforcement consultant Jason Krause presented the EC language suggestions and said, "We have not developed actual language at this time. If we're allowed to go forward with this, then we'd be happy to create language to accomplish that goal." The transcript records state delegations— detailed edits and policy direction for the STT to analyze.
