Reduced retention size for Puget Sound chinook?

[Smalma]

Dan-
I don't think anyone is claiming that a 22 inch Chinook is an adult fish; for Puget Sound by rule such a fish is just a legal fish that in all probability will be an immature fish.

Fin Chaser -
To expand a bit on Robbo's comments. Generally speaking the largest Chinook tend to be the result of being older faster growing fish. Historically while it was the "norm" for fish to mature at 4 there often were fish that were 5 or 6 years old and in some cases 8 or more years when they return as mature adults. Those older fish were the giants of the species (those fish weighting 80, 90 or even more than 100 pounds). Such fish while never exactly common some were seen most years in such Washington rivers as the Columbia, Elwha, Skagit, etc.

The rub comes when fishing takes place on the fish's feeding grounds. The harvest were to take place in terminal area the population of 6 year old fish would experience more or less same exploitation rate as those in say the 3 year old population. On the feeding grounds let's assume that fish begin entering the fishery after their second year of life. That means that fish that was destine to mature at the end of its third year will be fished on for only a year while one destine to return as a 6 year old would be fished for 4 years. The leads to a pretty strong selection against the older fish which only becomes worst when that occurs over several generations.

It takes shocking little fishing pressure to make a significant selective pressure against being an older maturing fish. If 10% of the population were being killed every year 90% of those fish maturing as 3 years would escape the fishery while on 2/3 of the fish maturing as 6 year olds would escapement the fishery.

These impacts are the direct result of hook and line fisheries (sport and commercial troll) on the marine feeding grounds of the immature fish. While we typically think of those feeding ground as being out in the ocean (off the Washington coast, west coast of Vancouver Island, Southeast Alaska) with our blackmouth it is also in Puget Sound/straits.

How fast the fish grow can also be an issue. It is normal for fish to grow at different speeds. IN fisheries with minimum size limits one can expect the faster growing fish to reach that size limit (becoming a legal fish) quicker which of course extends the fish exposure to being harvest (selection against being fast growing).

While this kinds impacts may not be much of an short term issue over time it can become very significant. Here in Puget Sound not only have those giant Chinook of more than 50# become virtually non-existent fish over 30# are pretty darn rare. On the other end of the scale 40 years ago a Jack Chinook was defined as a mature fish under 28 inches. In the mid-1970s it was fairly uncommon to see a 3 year female that was under that 28 inches. Now more of those 3 year females are under 24 inch (even as small as 20 inches).

The short story is that only the younger and slower growing individual are surviving to contribute to the next generation.

Curt

[Dan Carney]

Curt,
I was just being a little sarcastic. My real intention was to point out an inconsistency within the regulations. If you look in the front of the regs it has a definition for adult salmon; however, you have to refer to local waters to get an update for a specific body of water. Where I fish both Puget Sound and the Columbia/Snake rivers I find this inconsistency within the regulations a little annoying. I would like it if the regs could be simplified so that you don't have to have a law degree to interpret them. (again a little Sarcasm coming) An adult salmon is.... except when.... unless it follows a blue moon... or a month that is a prime number...
Thanks.
Dan