Orcutt is very familiar with the local popularity and family traditions of smelt dipping on the Cowlitz River. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, voted against the bill when it came to the Agriculture Committee. The challenge is being able to hold them accountable in court,” Heironimus said.įish and Wildlife enforcement issued 51 citations in 2022 and seized more than 2,000 pounds of illegally caught smelt. “We know at least 70% of those people did not have a fishing license. Heironimus said the department needed the requirement more for the frequent or extreme violators, who can escape punishment by claiming ignorance about the limits. Children 14 and younger would not need to get a fishing license, though they do still need to follow the 10-pound limits.įor most people who went over the limit, Fish and Wildlife enforcement officers provide weigh-in stations for the catches and verbal warnings. The license requirement would not be in place for any dips this spring. The average is skewed by the “gross violators” who tried to fill vehicles with smelt, but Heironimus said it was common for people to accidentally go over the weight limit. There were 169,000 pounds of smelt caught, meaning the average was slightly above the legal limit of 10 pounds per person. There were 16,000 people who dipped for smelt during the one day the run was open last March. “It would be an opportunity for anyone participating to read about the license, see the information and the rules for participating in the fishery.” This is still a federally protected species,” said Laura Heironimus, who leads the smelt and sturgeon unit for WDFW. “Not having a license gives this idea that it is a free-for-all and it’s not. Fish and Wildlife officials said the license would help educate the public and regulate the small but intense windows for smelt dipping. Mike Chapman, D-Port Angeles, but the change was a request from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The bill was passed by the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee Jan. House Bill 1226 would require a recreational fishing license to catch freshwater smelt, crawfish or carp - the only three species currently exempt from the license requirement. A bill going through the state Legislature could change that. Part of the dip’s popularity is that smelt are one of the only species of fish that Washingtonians can catch without a fishing license. Whenever smelt dips open along the Cowlitz River, thousands turn out to catch a bucket of the small silver fish.
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