Help inform fisheries management with new angler reporting tool for 2 Pierce County lakes
Fishery managers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) are launching an angler reporting tool early this summer to gather valuable data from Kapowsin Lake and Ohop Lake in Pierce County — and we need your help.
This online data reporting tool is quick to use and allows anglers to share information about their fishing experience with the agency.
“By sharing a few details from a day on the water, anglers can have a direct impact on the future of fisheries management for our non-native gamefish species,” said James Losee, Fish Program manager for Washington’s coastal region. “We’re really excited about this new tool and the opportunities it opens up for us and the angling community, both in terms of connecting with anglers fishing these lakes as well as having more data available to inform management decisions. Together we anticipate this work supporting our conservation goals as well as our diverse fishing opportunities.”
In late 2019, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted liberalized harvest regulations for non-native gamefish such as bass, walleye, and channel catfish to reduce the risk of predation on salmon smolts by these potential predators, and support the endangered Southern Resident killer whale population. Anglers’ participation in this piloted project will help to inform the effectiveness of these newly adopted regulations. Specifically, fishery managers will use results from this piloted project to help inform the development of a fisheries management-based model that identifies salmon stocks most susceptible to non-native gamefish predation, ultimately helping to move toward a strategy that focuses on fine-tuning regulations and optimize mixed-species fisheries throughout western Washington.
While the project is piloted in these two Pierce County lakes, fishery managers are exploring its implementation in nearly 80 western Washington lakes that border important salmon habitat, either within the lake or in upstream tributaries. In addition to helping to collect vital data regarding predation, the results will also help to pair future habitat restoration projects with regulations to improve smolt survival in western Washington.
Get involved: Submit a report today!
Visit the Angler Reporting Tool to complete your first report. Thanks for taking the time to share your harvest with us! We appreciate your continued support of fisheries conservation and management.
For questions or comments about the reporting tool, please contact WDFW’s Coastal region office at 360–249–4628.
Interested in other ways you can help to inform scientific data collection throughout Washington state? Community scientists (just like you!) can help provide important information about wildlife populations and trends. We’ve compiled a list of ongoing community science opportunities, visit our blog post to learn more.
To learn more about fisheries management in Washington state, visit us online at wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/management.
