Olympic National Park Proposes Minor Changes to Recreation Fishing Regulations; Public Comment Invited

Date: February 26, 2014
Contact: Barb Maynes, 360-565-3005

Olympic National Park is proposing minor changes to recreational fishing regulations within the park. These proposed changes apply to non-tribal, recreational fisheries within the boundaries of Olympic National Park.

Park staff is inviting the public to review the proposed changes at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/ONPFishingRegs2014-15 and provide comments or information that may not have been considered in developing these proposals.  

The proposed changes to fishing regulations are specific to the Dickey, Hoh, and Quillayute River mouths in the Pacific Coastal Area of the park. The proposed changes would clarify and simplify park regulations near the river mouths, improve consistency of the park's regulations regarding non-retention of wild fish, and eliminate the need for annual changes to gear and hatchery limits since they would conform to State regulations in those areas.  

In the proposed changes, annual park gear regulations and daily limits for hatchery salmon and steelhead would be identical to State regulations for areas immediately upstream of the park boundary in those rivers (See attached table). Annual park regulations would require the catch-and-release of cutthroat trout and wild coho and Chinook salmon in the Pacific Coastal Areas.   

Park fishing regulations take effect on May 1, 2014 and will be available at: https://www.nps.gov/olym/fishing.htm, park visitor centers, and local sporting goods stores. To be considered in the final decision process, comments must be received by March 24, 2014.