FY 2019 Implementation and Monitoring of Skagit Salmon Recovery Goals: Harvest Management

This project had two general components: 1) Implementing management actions by developing goals, fishing plans (i.e. regulations), and management evaluation criteria; and 2) Conducting fishery evaluations by monitoring and conducting analysis to ensure compliance with those goals, plans, and criteria. The specific objectives needed to achieve these two general components change from year to year, depending on what has been accomplished in previous years, and whether plans have expired, or new circumstances have developed. For example, the general purpose for each component is to address factors related to harvest as a limiting factor, which is identified in the Skagit Chinook Recovery Plan and to ensure compliance with measures outlined in the Puget Sound Harvest Management Plan. Note that this project covered SRSC participation (i.e. staff salary support) in achieving fishery management objectives, but actually finalizing a task, in most cases, requires participation and agreement with multiple agencies and governments.

The limiting factor that this project addresses is harvest, and the purpose of the project is to provide the information that allows managers to conduct fisheries on harvestable fish, with low enough impacts that harvest is removed as a limiting factor on species recovery. Achieving project objectives will insure that impacts of annually-negotiated fisheries regimes achieve the management reference points for all salmon stocks returning to the Skagit River system, including escapement and harvest objectives outlined in local resource management plans and harvest limits outlined in Chinook and Coho AABM Agreements of the Pacific Salmon Treaty, and are therefore low enough to meet abundance based management reference points for Chinook and steelhead to recover to delisting levels (as long as complementary habitat and artificial production actions are taken) and for Puget Sound coho, chum, sockeye, and pinks to remain at healthy levels. Finally, this project will allow us to map progress toward Chinook recovery and will enable timely implementation of management actions in light of significant changes in stock productivity.

Because harvest could potentially be a significant limiting factor to the maintenance of productivity levels required by Recovery Plans of ESA listed Pacific salmon, all project objectives provide critical information required for responsible management of harvestable fish stocks in the Skagit.