Hello. Welcome to the National Marine Sanctuary
Webinar Series. I'm Chris Butler-Minor. I'm the Community Engagement Specialist
with the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
And joining me today are Nicole Harris and Jacqueline Laverdure
who are with the Education team for the sanctuary.
They'll be helping me with polls and question and answer sessions, and so
forth. And not to spoil the surprise, but we
also have Daniel Studt with us today, with
fisheries, but we'll learn a little bit more about him in a couple of minutes.
So, we're pleased to have you join us today for
“Gone Fishing in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.”
It's one of the several events that will take place to celebrate
getting into your sanctuary. And this event is hosted by NOAA's
Office of National Sanctuaries. And it's a way to help you learn about
recreational fishing in the sanctuary, here off the Olympic
coast. So, during the presentation you're all
going to be, as attendees, you'll all be in listen
only mode, but you are welcome to type questions for
the speakers in the question box. It's on the lower
right-hand side of your control panel. You can also use that to get technical
assistance during the presentation and we will get
back to you with help as quickly as we can.
So, we're recording this session and we will share the recording with
registered participants via email and on the sanctuary's
facebook page as a "Get Into Your Sanctuary" event - a
watch party on August 2nd at 2 p.m Pacific Daylight time. Our "Get Into Your
Sanctuary" celebration is an annual August event
that's celebrated across the national marine sanctuary system.
And we greatly appreciate any feedback that you have for us
with this, this webinar so that we can improve where we need to and continue
doing good work where we're doing it. So, if you would be so kind as to take a
few minutes and complete the survey at the end of the webinar that
would be much appreciated.
So, this is the fifth annual "Get Into Your Sanctuary"
days that we're celebrating - held every year in August. And I'd like
to start this broadcast with telling you a
little bit about the sanctuary system as a whole. NOAA's National Marine
Sanctuary System consists of 15
marine and coastal protected areas that encompass
over 600 000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes waters from
Washington state to Florida Keys, from Lake Huron all the
way out to American Samoa. What we're going to
talk to you today about is the Olympic Coast
National Marine Sanctuary in Washington, which is where the red star
is located on the map that you see. Just a little bit of trivia or food
for thought: did you know that the majority of water
within NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries,
including the Olympic Coast, are open to compatible and responsible
recreational activities like surfing, kayaking,
wildlife viewing, scuba diving, and what we're talking about today
recreational fishing? It's also open for sustainable
tourism and stewardship opportune opportunities.
Not only these activities great fun, but
they provide benefits to the local economy.
So, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary protects the area
off Washington’s Pacific coast and that's outlined
in red in the map - in the center of the slide that you're looking at.
This large area covers up to nearly 3,200 square miles.
It extends up to 40 miles offshore in the northern section,
kind of where you see the little dog nose, and
and then follows the continental shelf southward.
And at the base of the sanctuary, it's about
25 miles offshore. So this sanctuary has one of the longest
stretches of wilderness coastline in the continuous,
contiguous United States and it borders protected areas
well, like the Olympic National Park and the wilderness
areas, like the National Wildlife Refuge
Complexes, and also Washington State Parks. It also
follows or adjoins some of the traditional lands, past and present, of
the Makah, Quileute, and Hoh Tribes
and the quill not, excuse me, the Quinault Indian Nation.
The sanctuary itself lies within the Usual and Accustomed
fishing and hunting areas of these Coastal Treaty Tribes and has supported
humans for thousands of years. Olympic Coast also has many different
habitats, from sandy beaches to rocky intertidal
zones, kelp forests, and deep-sea canyons.
And this makes it the perfect place for a wide variety of marine life to coexist.
It actually happens to be one of the most diverse and productive
marine ecosystems in the entire world, with
29 species of marine mammals, 128 species of seabirds, and it teems with numerous
fish and invertebrate species.
The Olympic Coast is really well known for its recreational
and commercial fishing opportunities, including smelt
and salmon, and black cod or sablefish, halibut, Dungeness crab, razor clams
and more! So, who's ready to hear some fishing stories
today? - Yay!
So, without further ado, I'm going to turn our
presentation over to Daniel Studt and he'll tell you a little bit more about
himself. And I'm sure you'll enjoy what he has to
say. - Awesome, thank you so much Chris and
thank you, everyone, for joining our "Gone Fishing in the Olympic Coast National
Marine Sanctuary presentation. So my name is Daniel Studt
and I am the Recreational Fisheries Coordinator for NOAA Fisheries West
Coast region. I'll be covering quite a bit in a short
amount of time, so I apologize if I'm going fast.
The presentation will be available online and I'll provide my contact
information as well. Again, there's so much to share in
this presentation. I'll be covering, you know, NOAA fisheries, who we are and the
importance of recreational fishing to Washington
as well as fish identification and some release tips. After that, we'll chat,
chat with Ben Maxson from Windsong Charters.
next slide, please. So, recreational fishing is a favorite American pastime,
you know, provides opportunities for people to experience the marine and
freshwater environments, spending time with friends and family on
the water, and of course bringing home some food.
While national marine sanctuaries protect underwater ecosystems, they also
provide for a variety of recreational uses, like Chris mentioned,
and that includes recreational fishing.
next slide, please.
So, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the national marine sanctuaries
are part of the NOAA umbrella. As you can see on the screen, the
missions of both of our agencies focus on the understanding, protection, and
management of our ocean resources. Sanctuaries focus more broadly on
natural and cultural resources while our fisheries namesake focuses on fisheries
and their habitats.
next slide, please.
So there are three main management bodies for recreational fisheries on
on the West Coast. You have your state fish and wildlife agencies, so that's
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
up in Washington. They typically manage fisheries that
occur between zero and three nautical miles.
There's NOAA Fisheries on the other hand that manages those further offshore, from
three to two hundred, as well as the high seas, and then
there's also the Pacific Fisheries Management Council.
So, the Pacific Council is one of eight councils established across the nation
by congress in 1976. The council consists of federal and state
agency representatives, there's a tribal representative,
there's members of industry, and there's the public, and
the council provides recommendations to NOAA Fisheries on management measures
such as catch limits, depth limits, and seasons. Fish can be
found in state, federal, and even international waters, so there's close
coordination among all of those three management bodies and I
also want to quickly note that, you know, it's a very public and transparent process.
And public input is, as you know, always welcome during these
meetings. So check out online, Pacific Council
"pcouncil.org."
next slide, please. So, so these are just some of the fisheries that we manage
on the west coast: you have your Pacific halibut, your
ground fish, otherwise known as rockfish, your tunas, your salmon, and your coastal
pelagic species like sardine, anchovy, and mackerel.
next slide, please.
So, NOAA Fisheries doesn't just focus on commercial fisheries. We want to ensure
sustainable fishing opportunities for all and that includes
recreational fisheries. So, so we have a national saltwater recreational
fisheries policies with three main goals. And the first is
to support and maintain sustainable recreational fisheries resources,
including healthy marine and estuarine habitats. Second, we want to promote
sustainable recreational fishing for the social, cultural, and economic benefit of
the nation. And third, enable enduring participation
and enjoyment of saltwater recreational fisheries through
science-based conservation and management.
next slide, please. To accomplish part of those guiding principles, NOAA
fisheries has worked to improve our communication
with recreational fishermen across the west coast.
And in the last couple of years, we have hosted
four round tables throughout each, you know each state, trying to identify
you know, what what concerns recreational fishermen are
you know, involved in and you know,
discuss how we can better support and learn from them. Some other
primarily primary concerns relate to access.
There's discussions around hatchery fish, marine mammal, and bird depredation,
improving our communications from NOAA, also data -
both economic and stock assessment and other long-term
concerns for the future of fisheries management or recreational fisheries.
And one of our primary goals also is increasing sustainable
fishing opportunities. One program that we like to highlight is our rockfish
recompression program. We work with our state partners like
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
to distribute descending devices, also educate anglers on the use of
descending devices, and proper fish identification.
We partner with, with organizations on habitat restoration and provide some
grant funding for for those. We also support fishing clubs
and organizations both through grant funding and volunteer
time, to host veteran and youth fishing trips.
I've been fortunate enough to get out on a handful of these and it's always a
rewarding experience to you know, see these people who might not
be able to get out to the ocean or you know, just get out onto the water and
you know, see them smile and have a good time,
and you know, experience all that the ocean has to offer.
next slide, please.
So, in addition to our conversations with anglers, we also conduct surveys
to let, learn better about you know, anglers' opinions and attitudes.
The results from these surveys provide insight into you know what motivates
anglers, what characterizes a successful trip, and
some preferred management objectives.
next slide, please.
and as Chris mentioned, you know recreational fishing and other
opportunities are really important to the economy. So,
just some highlights for the latest stats
from 2017 shows that anglers in Washington took approximately 1.6
million saltwater fishing trips - so a really
large number. And anglers spent over a billion dollars
on fishing-related trips and goods. And it just shows you, you know, how
valuable healthy recreational fishing opportunities are
to the local economies.
This is a figure also from our latest west coast snapshot that highlights
catch of important species that are also important to
Washington anglers. As you can see here, you know, black rockfish, you have your
salmon, your albacore tuna, as well as Pacific
halibut. And in total anglers caught almost
376,000 of all those, just those five species.
next slide, please.
So we'll touch on a few of the major species that you're likely to encounter
fishing offshore on the sanctuary today, both salmon and rockfish.
First up is salmon. There are seven different species of
Pacific salmonids that occur along the outer coast of Washington:
Chinook, coho, pink, sockeye, chum, and there's also sea-run, coastal
cutthroat trout and steelhead. You know salmon lived for a number of
years in the ocean and returned to rivers to spawn.
Given their life cycle and challenges they've encountered over the years
some of their populations remain low and that's why it's important to be able to
identify the species that you're fishing for,
to know, you know, what species it is, whether it's a wild or hatchery fish,
and we'll go over some of those identification tips next.
next slide, please.
So up first are our chinook and coho and, and again
you know, it's an important part of angler education
to be able to ID the species that you're fishing for.
It's really essential, whether you're a veteran or a novice you know, it's always
good to touch up on your identification as well.
These two here are typically your main salmon target species:
chinook/king salmon and coho/silver salmon.
And just to touch on some defining features here for when you're out
fishing and again, these are in their marine
phases so their marine coloration.
King salmon: primarily you're going to be looking at
that that dark black gum line. So their mouths are really
really dark and that's the primary feature.
Also their tails- they have spots on both the upper and lower lobes.
You know its a really big fish that you're targeting, but primarily you're
looking at the gum line - really black dark, also
dark mouth, with dark tongues and then some of the spotting on both the upper
and lower lobes. With coho/silver salmon they've got a
little bit of a dark gum line on the outside, but when
you actually look on the gums you know, where the teeth are, from the
inside it's really white and they've got sort of medium-sized
sharp teeth as well, like, like chinook you know, really
sharp teeth, but they only have spots on the upper
lobe of their tail. So you know, not a lot. There's some spotting
on the back, some striations in the tail,
tail fin there, and they also have a wide caudal peduncle.
So that's that area, flush,right, right before you get to the tail.
But again, a white gum line and not as much spotting on the tail.
You're also likely to encounter pinks, more so in odd
number years because they return typically every every two years.
The mouth is white. but it it does have a black gum line.
And in marine areas where you're fishing, they almost have no teeth. So that's
one of the defining features to you know. distinguish between
pink and coho. And they also have really large oval spots
on their tail and in both the upper and lower lobe.
With chum salmon, their mouth is white with a white gum line,
but they have really well-developed teeth. There's no markings on the tail.
So like, you know pink, they have those markings. Chum do not have the markings,
they have a really narrow caudal peduncle, and sometimes they can have
what's called calico markings or vertical bars
along their back.
And again, just to touch on you know, the primary features - you're looking at the
jawlines whether it's a dark black gum or a white
gum. And then for the tails, whether it's
spotted or not.
And it's also important to know whether the fish you're catching is
either a hatchery or a wild fish. There's often different regulations
for both. Typically most hatchery fish are marked by the clipping of their
adipose fin. They're clipped right before they're
released, when they're you know really small
juveniles. That way anglers and fisheries managers can identify
you know, where that whether that fish was a hatchery.
They're also implemented with some coated wire tags so you can
know, you know which hatchery the fish came from and whatnot.
But again, it's really important to know whether it's a hatchery fish or not
with that adipose fin clipped because there's different regulations.
Oftentimes you have to release wild fish and so you want to make sure you know
the fish is not marked when you're keeping it.
So this map highlights, so now we'll get into some rockfish in the sanctuary.
Rockfish are a primary target in both the sanctuary and all along the west
coast. This map highlights some areas of
their habitat, areas of particular concern, but like their namesake
you know you'll find them on the rocky reefs. There you've got that portion
in the north there, of really good fishing for rockfish off those
reefs. Rockfish can also be found in
seagrass, kelp canopies, and estuaries typically more so in the juvenile stage.
But you can see those areas linked there.
But again, yeah, but primarily you'll be fishing them over rocky reefs
and the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary has some fantastic reefs for
fishing.
next slide, please.
So again touching on identification, there are a lot of different rockfish.
Over I want to say, over 60 species of rockfish
And so it's always important to touch up both on your identification, you know
whether you're a novice or a veteran. So we'll highlight some that are you
know you're going to commonly encounter in the Olympic Coast National Marine
Sanctuary. Black rockfish, those are probably the
number one that you'll encounter. You'll target them near the
bottom. They have that sort of gray-black
body. Oftentimes they'll have dark stripes
from the eye to the end of the gill plate.
Yellowtail on the other hand, they're more of a midwater rockfish so found
slightly up off the bottom. They have those sort of
yellow fins and it's kind of hard to tell in this
photo, but they'll have pale patches or spots near the top,
sort of near their dorsal fin there.
Widow rockfish is also another midwater rockfish species. So you'll encounter
those while you're fishing for yellowtail and again they're also common
on the north north coast - targeting them out of Neah Bay
and La Push. They can be identified by their dusty
brown color. They've got a pretty small mouth as well.
Bocaccio, on the other hand, they have a really large mouth and
that maxillary, the sort of jawline, that typically extends
past well past the eye. They also sort of have an
olive-brown, sort of orange-red body color.
And Lingcod and Cabezon, those are also really important fish species that
anglers primarily target and are highly sought after. Cabezon has
that sort of marbled body coloration - a lot of those different colors mixed in.
One of the primary identifying characteristics would be those little
flaps of skin that are found above the eye.
and like their nose, their snout area. Lingcod, they kind of also have that
sort of marbled coloration. They're pretty easily
recognizable. They're a little lengthier, longer body, and they have really large
mouths and their teeth are also really sharp.
so you know, don't grip them like you do with other rockfish.
While you're grabbing them on the lip, gotta be pretty careful.
And fun fact about Lingcod, they can actually have a blue flesh
so when you, you know you're filleting it out open it'll be bright, bright blue
and kind of green but when you cook it
the color actually goes away and the meat turns white like
typical rockfish fillets.
Canary rockfish are also highly sought after. You'll notice a couple of
different color variations here, but they are actually genetically
similar. Some rockfish show similar colorations, but are actually
genetically distinct. One example of that are vermilion and
sunset rockfish. Kind of look the same, but are are
completely different species. And another example would kind of be
like the blue and deacon rockfish.
now that you know, you can easily identify
blue and deacon from you know, other species, but
the distinguishing characteristics between those two are often pretty hard.
And so you'll see fisheries management often just links
those two species together. One thing to know for canary, they've got
that light red-orange coloration and that really white-gray lateral line
that goes along the whole entire body. Canary was overfished at one point, but
it was rebuilt in 2015 and thanks to conservation efforts by
anglers like those that are listening, to using descending devices, and avoiding some of
the areas that they're found in. You know, since 2015 WDFD has
been slowly allowing increased retention. In 2019, that three fish sub-limit was
completely eliminated and now only the general rockfish bag
limit applies.
Here's the vermilion rockfish. They've got a really full body red color.
Pretty neat. They can be pretty bright
and then some, some mottled black coloration there.
On the top, they can also be lighter red as well,
but those are really highly sought after, especially down here in California
where I'm from. There's also copper rockfish that
are pretty commonly encountered. They've got that sort of brown-orange
-yellow coloration, but you'll notice that sort of light
coloration on the last two-thirds of the lateral line.
That is one of the distinguishing characteristics. They are really tough
rockfish that can stay alive on the deck for
quite some time or if you have them in the gummy sack. So just be careful
because their spines can hurt and they're really lively fish. So just be
careful when you're handling them.
And then last we'll cover here is yelloweye rockfish. So,
yelloweye rockfish are among the longest-lived species of rockfish - living
up to 150 years. And the Puget Sound population of yellow
eye is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. and
In marine waters, yelloweye rockfish is under an MSA rebuilding plan
and so you're not allowed to retain yelloweye rockfish in all of
Washington waters. It's prohibited. So, these fish have to be released but
you know, thanks to again to all your conservation efforts, using descending
devices, avoiding areas where they're typically
found, their population is rebuilding.
Some of the identifying features for these is
you know, like their namesake that the yelloweye. So you'll find a bright
yellow eye. Their fins are, are sometimes lined with
black edges. For juveniles they're a little redder in
color and they also have one to two white stripes
down their body.
So here's just some other rockfish id links and resources...
There's also an id quiz by ODF&W. So, if you want to test your id
skills you can check out that website.
next slide, please.
And so you know why do we need to know these species types well. It's important
to know the species you're catching are from
you know, healthy stocks and whether they're legal to keep, and if they're not
you have to release them back into the ocean.
But for rockfish, they have swim bladders and when you bring up to the surface
they can suffer from what's called barotrauma or pressure shock.
Their swim bladder expands like, like a balloon.
And you know when you try to release them, you can't send them back down. And
so, you know, if you can't keep the fish -
if it's you know, yelloweye or you've reached your limit and you want to throw it
back, those fish would just end up floating
on the surface and succumbing to the effects of baro-
trauma. Often times you know you have seagulls hanging around the boat or
or sea lions even and so then they'll just get eaten.
Instead, you can safely release them back out in the ocean.
And to do this, to do that, you use what's called descending devices.
next slide, please,
So again you can't just toss them back because of the large amount of air in
their swim bladder. And so, the best way is to use these
descending devices. They're non-invasive. You hook them onto their lip
and you get them back down to depth. So, so we want you to release them back down
to where you're fishing. So if you're fishing out 200 feet try and get them
down, back down to 200 feet. In some instances
you can't get them all the way back down,
but just try and release them as far and deep as possible.
You know, if they shoot back up to the surface, then you're obviously not
releasing them deep enough. You get them back down far enough,
oftentimes they can swim back down on their own.
One thing is, is to not vent the fish by puncturing the swim bladder.
That can lead to infection and mortality. ,So your best bet is using these
these devices. Everyone fishing for rockfish and halibut in Washington
are required to have a descending device on their onboard their vessel.
These right here are commercially available. You know you can purchase
them online. From left to right that's the Shelton,
SeaQuilizer, and RokLees. I'm not showing it, is also the Black
Tip. You can also make your own. So,
you can use an inverted hook you know, with the leadhead
filed down/ the barbed hook so the fish can slide off easily.
oh, next slide, please.
So these are showing some examples of ways that you can make one.
Also, there's the milk crate method. So you get a milk crate you know, turn it
upside down. Attach some dive weights to it and zip
tie them, and that way you can just throw the crate over the top of the fish. You
get quite a few underneath and then you know,
again dropping them back down to the appropriate
depth and just pulling the crate or the hook back
up.
next slide, please.
So, in addition to the descending devices you know there's other
methods that have been employed for recovering overfished rockfish
and that is closed areas. So on the Washington coast
there's a few yellow-eyed rockfish conservation areas.
You know they're created to prohibit retention of rockfish and
you know, really minimize interactions with,with yelloweye that are found
commonly in these areas. There's also depth restrictions. You know you can't
fish past, I believe 20 fathoms at certain times of the year.
But the efforts to avoid these areas, to use descending devices,
is paying off for anglers. So, now that the rockfish populations are recovering
because of these efforts, these restrictions are being relaxed and
so while not yet finalized, we're likely to see some
relaxations in the 2021 and 2022 season regulations.
That might include opening of the Washington south coast and Westport
yellow-eyed rockfish conservation areas as well as a shortening of the timing of
the, the twenty-fathom depth restriction
in marine area four where the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary is found.
Pacific halibut is also a highly sought after species.
In the sanctuary, it's managed in both an international and domestic forum.
There's a large number of anglers that target halibut and
a relatively smaller size allowable catch means that the seasons can be
pretty short. So here, here's the proposed season
for the upcoming north coast area. And you also see there Jeremy Jording. He's
our NOAA Fisheries Washington RecFish
rep there with a nice Pacific halibut. So you can find
the finalized seasons on Pacific halibut on the WDFW website when that becomes available.
And while not federally managed, I also want to highlight the Pacific razor
clam, because that's really sought after. You know it's not unusual to have a
thousand people come out on a nice spring weekend day, you know, all you
need is a clam shovel, a bucket to put your clams in, and you
know, most importantly also your clam license.
Just be sure to check the regulations before heading out.
During certain times of the year toxins can be found in the clams,
but WDFW does work with the Washington Department of Fish
or of Health to sample clams, and you know make sure they're
they're healthy to take during the season.
next side, please.
So, just some other additional fishing information. Charter vessels, they run
out of four main ports in the Olympic Coast.
Neah Bay, Seiku, La Push, and Westport targeting all
the species we, we just talked about. I believe Neah Bay
and La Push are currently closed. So just be sure
to look online before you head out. The Olympic Coast National Marine
Sanctuary encompasses WDFW’s Marine areas four, three, and
parts of two. So, you can find regulations on there and we also have it
linked in, as a pdf, into the
the presentation here, so you can access that there if you're you're online right
now. And also for, for charter fishing
you know that's something that everyone can go on and jump on.
The captains are knowledgeable and they'll take you directly to fishing
spots and you know you have crew that can be there
to help you bait your hook or tell you how to catch certain fish.
And so it's really ideal for the new angler.
This just gives you a general idea of the typical fishing speed,
uh seasons for the species we talked about today.
Those larger x's denote the sort of time when you're more likely
to encounter this species. Bottom fish you can fish them year-round
but primarily you're targeting them March to October. Pacific halibut, that
season typically starts in May, but as we've seen this year you know,
it's starting in August. and then chinook, you're typically
fishing for those late spring through summer.
And again here's some link to some other resources.
These sites contain instructional videos, regulations,
places to fish and you know how we manage fish populations.
So, some other some resources there for salmon,
groundfish/ rockfish, and also crab as well.
next slide, please and so there's our contact information. That
has our NOAA Fisheries website and then also
contact for myself as well as the RecFish Washington rep for NOAA Fisheries,
Jeremy Jording, and also our contact information is also
online as well. So, feel free to contact me with any questions.
Okay, great! Well, thank you so much Daniel. And I think we're going to have a moment
to be able to talk to Ben Maxson who's
here. Before we do though, we want to point out
a video, that we're going to put a link into the chat box,
and we're also/I'm going to try to show it here right now,
but thanks, Daniel. If everyone just want to hold on a minute when we get
over to Ben. - Awesome, thank you so much
Pull hard, reel, reel, reel, reel.
So, we've been out seeing and doing a little rockfish with Windsong Charters.
We're just excited to be out here. We have a great group.
We've been to the Cape Flattery Trail, We've done a circle around Tatoosh
Island. We've been able to put a couple rock
fish in the boat as well and have a beautiful sunrise.
My name is Ben Maxson and I'm the Manager and skipper of Windsong Charters.
I get the opportunity to work on a great vessel. We have two different boats that
we run on the Pacific Ocean and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
we do everything from sightseeing, to halibut, salmon
bottomfish, and just getting people out and enjoying the ocean and the great
outdoors. This is a special place! This is the
continental northwest tip. So, many people come to the Cape
Flattery Trail, the rain forests, the mountains, the greenery, the ocean.
The orcas come through three or four times a year. We do get to see humpback
whales as well as your sea lions, your sea otters, your harbor seals,
on top of all your fish species. So it's just great to see the marine life.
It's just beautiful. I don't think you could ask for a prettier place.
Okay, give me the cameras, I'll snap and click.
Say happy happy happy! -Happy happy happy! [Music]
Just a great day on Windsong Charters.
Well yeah, looking forward to talking with Ben here. So Ben is the Owner-Operator
of Windsong Charters. Looking to hear from him on some of his
favorite fishing experiences, his favorite fish,
maybe some additional, safe handling and release techniques,
and why sanctuaries are important to recreational fishing.
Daniel, are you able to hear me? This is Ben. - Hey Ben. Yeah, I can hear you.
Wonderful. That's, that's quite a picture. We should have probably got one of me on
a boat, I guess. Oh, I know, right. We got the video
up and, and linked to the video, so there you go. Hi Nicole, great to see you
again as well. - Hi Ben. - So, Daniel, I don't know if you
have a couple questions that you want to ask or if you want me just to tell you
about what I love getting out into the ocean
and into the sanctuary. - That sounds perfect, yeah.
Yeah I have the privilege to own and operate
well, work with Windsong Charters and I absolutely love to be on the water.
You know, I tell everyone, I fish with young kids all the way up to
seniors, and there is nothing more special than
seeing a five-year-old catch their first fish or seeing as a 75 year
old catch maybe they're 2,000th fish, but
you know when I was talking to Jacqueline the other day,
my most favorite days are when we're pulling up to the fishing spot
which most of you know we summer fish , we head to the Swiftsure Bank,
out to some of the popular blue dots/ 72 square
and when the humpback whales are, are in and you'll pull
up and it's frequent to have 100 plus whales feeding and enjoying
the sunrise. And so one of the things that I try to tell everyone, the ocean
just isn't for fishermen, the ocean is for
those that love saltwater, the smell of saltwater, by
golly. It's just a beautiful thing, or, or the sunrise and sunsets. As many of
us know are just majestic and so special.
The marine life is incredible. I always try to spot sea otters on the way out,
harbor seals, sea lions, California sea lions,
you know, and then we typically see the three species of orcas,
you know, seem to come through monthly. And then your humpbacks are
I wouldn't say they're resident, but they sure seem like it.
and then we have our grays. So favorite fish for me to catch. Last
year was my first year being able to fish tuna out of Westport,
out of Neah Bay, I'm sorry. Normally I've gone down to Westport to fish tuna
and so the joy of catching tuna out of my home port
was fantastic. So a new favorite for me is, is tuna.
The standard for me is I'll take a
a fantastic chinook when it's 300 feet deep off the downrigger.
Like, when you’re fishing that blue dot or 72
or give me a halibut and 600 feet of water.
So, we just love to get out. We, like I say, we fish all ages. We have
multiple boats. This isn't a, it's by no means is a
sales pitch for Windsong, but I would love people to understand
the coast is beautiful. And you highlighted it, from
clamming and being on the beach too. It seems like there's kind of a
resurgence as well, and this is outside my you know
knowledge, but kind of surf perch and bullheads are kind of coming back into
an excitement of people just wanting to beach fish and
pond fish and so by all means, I just want to encourage and I am very
honored to be a part of this program and support you all to encourage
people to get out and enjoy your sanctuary.
Thanks so much. That's a great description of fishing in the sanctuary and
you know hearing about you know experience all that other wildlife while
you're out there is you know it's pretty unique and
that's a really neat thing. - So I was kind of waiting to
hear you tell everyone why the Lingcod can have blue flesh prior to
cooked and you didn't get into that, huh
Daniel. Do you, do you know why Ben? - I'm not an
expert on that. - So what I'm told is there's a different
enzyme in their makeup. Yes, and, and Daniel is
totally correct that these fish come out anywhere
from a neon blue to just a kind of a vibrant
blue color. They cook down a perfectly white and
they're, they're beautiful fish.
So how about, I also didn't hear a kind of fun fact. If
if you all would like to know they're becoming more and more common to be
talked about and known about, but in the same way,
your chinook salmon can be a very vibrant
red-colored meat, but I am a huge fan, if you want to know what my
favorite to eat fish is, it is a white chinook.
And so I absolutely love white chinook. Have you all had them?
Daniel or Nicole or Jacqueline? - Yeah, I don't think so. - You're making me hungry...
I'm ready to come out there right now and try to find something
right now.
So, there are only a couple distinctions
that you can tell. There's a couple of Makahs in my
my family lineage, that I've married into here
who can tell you if it's a white chinook or if it's a red chinook
before they're fillet, but most people, you have to fillet them open.
and they're just, just, if you're listening to this
this webinar/ podcast, the white chinook isn't something that's sold
out there because there's no market. And typically people think
that's different than what I'm associated to. But I can tell you the
white chinook has a higher fat content
and by golly, when they cook they come out that way...
they're just beautiful. So I would encourage any and all of you, if you get
a chance. I'm not trying to sell a white chinook.
You, you would never know that you could ever go catch one,
but I will tell you they are so fun . And when you fillet one open,
it's, people, won't believe you that it's salmon and it tastes so good.
So, what your favorite way to prepare
that salmon? - By golly, I have, I love to cook. So on the side, I am
I am a backyard. In fact, my wife and I own a food truck
if that gives you any indication. So, let's see...
for salmon, I'm so simple. I throw it on, on a barbecue. It has to be
charcoal. You know it has to be lump charcoal. And
I'm pretty simple: lemon pepper, some salt, and then I like a little
dill on my salmon. I could give you a
couple recipes for your other species that are kind of fun
though, if you're interested? So halibut. We have started eating
halibut where I prepare equal parts, if you're
ready, parmesan cheese and pesto
mixed together. You take your halibut filet,
you put it in a broil rack on aluminum foil,
you put the parmesan and the pesto on it. You bake it
for 15 to 20 minutes and then fresh chopped pine nuts on top. So,
here's my my other favorite halibut, if you guys want another halibut dish
that's incredible. And I'm gonna ruin my family for this
just by telling you all because you need to go try it, okay? So
it's as simple as going to your local Costco, which is much closer for you guys
than it is for me - a solid two hours away. You get the the
cheddar bay biscuit mix. You all know what I'm
talking about? Yeah. Take your cheddar bay biscuit mix.
Mix it up straight as it says. Throw it in a 9 x 12,
greased nine by 12 pan. Cut your halibut into one by one chunks.
Set the halibut into the cheddar bay biscuit.
Bake it. Two minutes before it's done, you put the butter with all the garlic and
the seasoning on top of it. Put it back in the oven and it comes out
like a one-dish where you're scooping cheddar bay biscuit with halibut with
garlic and butter and it's incredible. -That sounds amazing. -That sounds amazing and
it's funny as we're also doing a "Get Into Your Sanctuary" cooking
demonstration. And if I had known all these great recipes you're going to
share, I would have had you come to that as well, Ben.
So, thank you. Before we switch over, Ben did you want to talk about how you do
safe release on your vessel, the Windsong? - So,
we do carry the standard descending device that
is calibratable to 100, 200, 300 foot depths because we fish the full water
column. And depending on which vessel we're on,
so, if you're on a six-pack boat, typically
we just run the descending device with a two pound lead
on a, on a halibut rod and we just drop it right back down to the bottom or when
it naturally releases. On the Windsong, when we're fishing 16
people, I cheat. I have to tell you sometimes
it gets so busy, I run a 10-pound cannonball and I put
two fish in each descending device and I run them on my Scotty downriggers.
So, quick plug to a Scotty 2106 high speed,
they work awesome! And yeah, you drop the thing down to the bottom, you bring it
back up automatic, and you're ready to send the
next ones. -That sounds great. Well, thank you so
much Ben for joining us. And Daniel I'm going to let you and
Nicole, I think go on to maybe a few of your surveys.
But Ben, I hope we can come out and see you soon. I hope you stay safe out there
in Neah Bay. And we appreciate the fishing stories
and I'm definitely am very hungry right now, so we're going
to have you come back. - Thank you so much and next year, I'll come cook when we do
this again. Thanks so much, Ben.
So, we've got a couple quick ID quizzes here, if we have some time to maybe do one or
two. um?
Yes, we do. -Perfect. So, what is this fish: chinook,
coho, pink?
and remember that the characteristics you're looking at
you know, gum lines, spotting on the tail.. I know its a kind of pulled back shot
um
What is your best guess? Okay, so I'm gonna give you guys another just
another few seconds to look at this picture and then I'm going to go ahead
and launch the poll. You should see that and you can choose
your best guess. So, hopefully you've got a good look at
those fish. You've looked at that gum line. You've looked at those tails...
and here is our first poll. So, what was that fish you guys saw? chinook
or coho?
All right, the votes are coming in. You provided some good information there
Daniel.
I'm going to give you guys just about five more seconds
to see if you want to get your answers in there.
Okay and I am going to go ahead and close the poll.
And it looks like for this first quiz, 69 percent
said Chinook. Awesome, so yeah its chinook. I know it's kind of hard to tell pulled
back, but they've got really you know distinct black gums there.
And then there's some spotting on the fish
fish's tail there on both the upper and lower lobes.
You want to aim for one more salmon ID quiz? Yeah, let's do one more.
Awesome. So, how about this one?
I've got that silver-green back there, look at the tail...
All right. I'm gonna give them another couple seconds there to look at the
picture and then I'm gonna launch that poll. Hopefully, you guys got
a good look at those fish, you know what you're gonna choose...
Here's your second poll. What is that fish? Is it a coho?
or a chum?
All right, the votes are flying in.
All right. Looks like I'm gonna give you guys about five more seconds. Try and get
those votes in.
Okay, and I am going to close the poll. And it looks like 63 percent stay coho.
Okay. Its coho, so it kind of
again, kind of hard to tell, but really white gum line there
and then there's not as much spotting on the tail.
So, if you can see the tail, it's pretty free from, from spots,
there's also kind of some, some striations around the tail, which is
another distinct feature.
Awesome. So, maybe we shoot over to rockfish ID quiz
number two. Okay, so let's get the first one there.
okay.
So look at that picture guys because once the quiz comes up/ the poll, I
don't think you get to see the picture. So get a good look at that fish.
And now, I'm gonna launch the poll. So, which rockfish is this? Vermillion or
Tiger?
So remember that really red body, a little bit of black mottling on the top,
that bright red when you pull them out.
All right, votes are coming in. I'm gonna
give you guys just about five more seconds. Get your votes in
and we're gonna close the poll. And this one looks like
76 percent say vermillion. So vermillion. So
tiger rockfish, they are kind of red, but they have red and white stripes
throughout. So if you do encounter a tiger that's
what they look like. Vermillion, they've got that really full-body red.
We also have some good resources on our website. If you go to fishwatch.gov,
that has all the species that we manage, explains a little bit about
you know the management, how healthy the stock is doing,
and there's even some recipes on there. So, fishwatch.gov if you're interested.
Awesome and we did try and share all those links that Daniel had
in his presentation in the chatbox too or question box. So
hopefully, you guys all were able to grab those links for all that great
information.
Oh, you're muted, Jacqueline. Thank you. Okay, guys thank you so very
very much for that great information. I know I learned a lot and so
thank you, Daniel. Thank you, Ben and thank you, Nicole and Chris.
And we can't wait to get into our sanctuary!
Now, I just want to mention that while most of the events that we're doing
for "Get Into Your Sanctuary" are being held virtually this year
in response to the health and safety concerns due to COVID- 19,
and many of our visitors' centers are still closed, sanctuary waters and some
access points have remained open for responsible use in accordance with the
CDC guidance and local regulation. So, for more information on
the response from NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries can be found
on sanctuaries.noaa.gov forward slash coronavirus.
And, you can also find more information on our website at olympiccoast.noaa.gov.
So, if you do have a chance to get into our national marine sanctuaries, please
share your photos on social media and use the I love my sanctuary and
recreate responsibly hashtags. And don't forget to check out our annual
photo contest that's open until Labor Day. That's September 7th and
that's at sanctuaries.noaa.gov forward slash photo.com, i'm sorry, photo
dash contest.
So, once again, I thank you so much, Daniel and Ben
and Nicole and Chris and you can reach all of these folks at the addresses
shown on this slide. If we did
not get to your questions we'll try to email your question to the presenters
and we'll try to get those answered in the next couple days.
So, again thank you so much and please do get into our sanctuary and be
safe and thank you so much!
Thank you! Thanks, guys.