Coho opportunity up, chinook down.
State and tribal fishery co-managers reached an agreement Monday, setting the general salmon fishing seasons for the remainder of 2019. The seasons include increased opportunity to fish for coho salmon but less opportunity to fish for chinook salmon, in part due to efforts to conserve fish for the endangered Southern Resident orca whales that eat chinook. Pink salmon fisheries will also be limited in Puget Sound. Limiting salmon fisheries could also help the orcas by reducing the number of fishing boats, which create noise that interferes with the whales’ ability to communicate and hunt, according to a state Department of Fish & Wildlife news release. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)