Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries; Rebuilding Plan for the Overfished Queets River Spring/Summer Chinook Salmon Stock
Key claim: NOAA is putting into force a Pacific Fishery Management Council plan that changes West Coast salmon fishing rules to rebuild the overfished Queets River spring/summer Chinook stock.
Abstract
(Rule · Commerce Department, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) This final rule will implement the rebuilding plan recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) for the overfished Queets River Spring/Summer Chinook salmon stock (Queets sp/su Chinook salmon). This final rule identifies changes to the regulations to implement the rebuilding plan.
Why this matters
Rebuilding plans under the Magnuson-Stevens Act set the catch and season constraints that West Coast commercial, tribal, and recreational salmon fisheries must operate within. Tighter rules to protect the Queets River Chinook can ripple into reduced ocean fishing opportunity off Washington and the Columbia area, affecting fleet income and regional salmon supply even though a single stock rebuilding is a routine, narrowly scoped action.