Outdoor News Daily

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) invites the public to attend its annual salmon status update and outlook meeting in February. The outlook for 2012 ocean and river fisheries will also be discussed.

This year’s meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 28 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.at the Sonoma County Water Agency, 404 Aviation Blvd. in Santa Rosa.

The meeting will provide the latest information on California salmon escapement in 2011 and the outlook for sport and commercial ocean salmon fisheries in the coming season. The public is encouraged to provide input to a panel of California salmon scientists, managers and representatives, many of whom will be directly involved in the upcoming Pacific Fishery Management Council meetings in March and April.
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Final amended regulations for tautog and river herring have been published and will become effective on Saturday, Feb. 11, the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife announced today.

The changes are as follows:

The minimum size limit for tautog is 16 inches all year.

· Tautog Open Seasons and Limits:
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The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted a variety of new sportfishing rules and increased the number of multiple-season hunting permits for deer and elk issued each year during a public meeting here Feb. 3-4.

The commission, a nine-member citizen panel appointed by the governor to set policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), adopted new fishing rules for the 2012-13 season that will:

Close fishing early for steelhead and other game fish in several river systems in Puget Sound and along the Strait of Juan de Fuca to protect wild steelhead. The early closures, ranging from mid-January to mid-February of 2013, apply to the Nooksack, Skagit, Stillaguamish, Snohomish, Green and Puyallup river systems, along with several streams along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The proposal also includes closing the upper section of the Samish River on Dec. 1 and the lower section Jan. 1 to fishing for all species.
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The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the Kalispel Tribe of Indians will jointly host two public meetings this month to share information about plans to reduce the number of non-native northern pike in Box Canyon Reservoir on the Pend Oreille River in northeast Washington.

The meetings are scheduled 6-8 p.m. as follows:

Feb. 15, CenterPlace, 2426 N. Discovery Place, Spokane Valley
Feb. 16, Usk Community Hall, 2442 Black Road, Usk
John Whalen, WDFW eastern regional fish manager, said the department and the tribe have agreed on a three-part strategy for reducing northern pike in the Box Canyon Reservoir. Starting this spring, they will be actively encouraging anglers to fish for northern pike, holding fishing tournaments with incentives and removing pike with gill nets.
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