Washington Commission to Discuss Columbia River Fisheries; Puget Sound Shrimp Management
OutdoorHub 08.30.12
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will receive briefings on a proposed process to restructure the management of salmon and sturgeon fisheries in the lower Columbia River and a process to review and update the Puget Sound shrimp policy during a special meeting Sept. 5-6 in Olympia.
The commission, a nine-member citizen panel appointed by the governor to set policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), will convene in Room 172 of the Natural Resources Building, 1111 Washington St. S.E.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. on Sept. 5 and 8:30 a.m. Sept. 6. An agenda for the special meeting is available on the commission’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/meetings.html.
During the special meeting Sept. 5, WDFW fishery managers will present the commission a proposed process and timeline for working with their counterparts in Oregon to consider restructuring management of salmon and sturgeon fisheries in the lower Columbia River.
The proposed process was developed jointly with Oregon’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, which was asked by Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber to make changes to salmon and sturgeon fisheries as an alternative to a citizen initiative that would ban gillnetting on Oregon’s side of the Columbia River.
On Sept. 6, the commission will receive a briefing on the process to update the Puget Sound shrimp policy. As part of the ongoing process, WDFW staff will present recent input they received from the commercial and recreational shrimp advisory groups on proposed management options for the Puget Sound shrimp fishery.
On both days, TVW (http://www.tvw.org/) is scheduled to provide a live webcast of the meeting.
