New Resident Wild Trout Policy
- Thread starter Guy Le Fly
- Start date
I had trouble making the link work above. Here is the press release:
www.wildsteelheadcoalition.org
And here's the new policy:
Progress, Not Perfection — Wild Steelhead Coalition
On Friday, November 14, the Fish and Wildlife Commission approved a new Resident Native Trout Fisheries Policy by an 8-1 vote, a landmark shift in how Washington State manages wild rainbow trout. After a two-and-a-half-year process, the Wild Steelhead Coalition, working alongside partner conservati
www.wildsteelheadcoalition.org
And here's the new policy:
cascadian
Steelhead
If I understand this correctly, this informs decisions, but provides no decisions. It's purely a guidence policy. Am I missing something, Guy?
Have you read or intuited any possible rule changes that may be forthcoming?
Have you read or intuited any possible rule changes that may be forthcoming?
Yes, it is policy and as such is intended as a guide to rulemaking - not intended to be prescriptive. That is one thing the Commissioners made clear early in the process.
As for resultant rule changes, that will indeed be The Proof in the Pudding. There was some initial appetite by some in the Department for this policy, but we need to monitor and possibly reach out to the various regional fish managers in all areas with wild steelhead to have that conversation. One example is the recent coastal steelhead regulations where anglers must release wild steelhead, rainbow trout, and cutthroat. But this is only during the winter steelhead seasons from November to March. So that leaves the opportunity for directed harvest afterwards - a point actually raised by the Commission during the recent meeting in November.