US District Court determines that Fish Northwest has sufficient legal standing and rejects the motion to dismiss the court case. Back in April, you, our members, made it possible for Fish Northwest to launch its second lawsuit. This suit addresses the ongoing over-harvest of Endangered Species Act (ESA) protected salmon in terminal areas and the […]

Puget Sound salmon fishing opportunities are truly in the tank! Recently it has been suggested by some that we at Fish Northwest are pushing a negative narrative in an attempt to increase our membership. This is pretty hilarious when one considers the current reality of saltwater salmon fishing opportunities in Puget Sound. The fact is, […]

Today the defendants’ (NMFS) motion to dismiss was granted. While the court order says that it is granting the motion to dismiss, this by no means spells the end for the lawsuit. The court dismissed some claims and is allowing some claims to move forward. This means that FNW survived the defendants’ procedural objections and […]

In late August a letter-writing campaign was initiated asking both the Director of WDFW and the nine-member WDFW Commission to re-open Marine Area 7 following a closure after just seven days of chinook fishing in July. Ultimately the Department did not re-open Marine Area 7 on September 1st but did publish a letter on the […]

Folks have been inquiring regarding the injunction FNW sought in our most recent lawsuit. This suit mostly pertains to NMFS knowingly allowing the overharvest of multiple ESA-listed stocks of salmon. This irresponsible policy not only puts the overall recovery of Puget Sound salmon at immediate risk but triggers massive cuts in recreational mark-selective (hatchery fish […]

Fish Northwest is committed to the conservation and preservation of Puget Sound salmon stocks while restoring and expanding fishing opportunities for Washington’s anglers, their families, and businesses. We believe that the future of recreational fishing opportunities depends on the conservation and recovery of wild salmon along with the science-based production and harvest of hatchery fish. […]

Fidalgo- San Juan Islands Chapter- PSA, votes to give financial support and backing to Fish Northwest. The board at FNW would like to personally thank our local PSA members for their confidence.

MA-7 just closed after 7 days of fishing. WDFW is claiming the reason is a high effort on the quota of 1382 fish (for perspective, in 2014 MA-7 was open for 8 months. Now in 2021, it remained open for 7 days). The reason for the closure is simple; the treaty tribes have succeeded in […]

Having done its job for them, Fish Northwest is dismissing WDFW from this portion of the lawsuit filed on April 28th in the Federal Court, Western District of Washington, without prejudice. A major objective of the litigation has been achieved in just a few months, and the state can no longer claim the necessity for […]

In 2014 the co-managers (WDFW and the Puget Sound Tribes) multi-year ESA fishing permit issued by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) expired. This permit had allowed each of the co-managers to conduct fisheries under their authority. To this date, the co-managers have not agreed on the specifics of a new multi-year management plan. Without such […]