66 



Terminal Area Fisheries . Grays Harbor itself supports local commercial 

 fisheries, as well as sport fishing and oyster culture. Fish epecxea of 

 economic importance within the Harbor include local runs of Chinook, coho, and 

 chum salmon, steelhead, and cutthroat trout. Sturgeon, largely originating 

 from the Columbia River, support sport and commercial fisheries in Grays 

 Harbor and the lower Chehalis (John Devore, WDF, pers. coram.). Both the non- 

 Indian and Indian commercial gillnet fisheries operate inside Grays Harbor. 

 Both harvest Chinook, coho, and chum salmon. In addition, the Indian fishery 

 harvests steelhead. 



Sport Fisheries 



The two major recreational fisheries are the river sport fishery and the 

 charterboat fishery. The Basin attracts anglers from outside Grays Harbor, 

 principally from the Puget Sound metropolitan area but from neighboring states 

 as well. 



Marine Sport Fishery . The charter 6almon fishery has traditionally fished 

 only the mixed 6tocks of Chinook and coho salmon in the ocean, but some boats 

 have begun fishing inside Grays Harbor for local coho. There is. also a sport 

 fishery by private boats in the ocean. Westport is the primary charter 

 fishing port in the Basin. The recreational coastal Washington salmon fishery 

 provided about 160,000 annual trips during 1986-1988, of which slightly over 

 half were by charter boat, and most of the rest by private boat (ICF 1988). 

 As salmon stocks have declined many of the charter operators have increasingly 

 turned to bottom fishing. 



River Sport Fishery . The river sport fishery targets primarily on steelhead, 

 coho, Chinook, and chum salmon, and white sturgeon. The ICF (1988) analysis 

 showed relatively little bank fishing, but may have underestimated the fishing 

 effort along the lower Chehalis, Humptulips, Wynoochee, and Satsop Rivers. 



Value of Salmon Fisheries 



Pacific Northwest 



The economic value of salmonid fishing in the Pacific Northwest (northern 

 California, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho) was studied by the Oregon Rivere 

 Council (1992). They reported that recreational users valued the experience 

 of fishing at about $50/day in 1990 dollars. However, Pacific northwest 

 residents were also willing to pay for the expansion of Columbia River salmon 

 runs by paying higher utility bills at the rate of about $70 per fish, if one 

 includes the value placed on the mere existence of the resource and the 

 continued option of fishing, as well as the value of fishing experience itself 

 (Oregon Rivers Council 1992). 



Combined commercial and recreational salmon, trout and steelhead fisheries 

 produced $1.3 billion in annual personal income in direct, indirect, and 

 induced economic impacts, and supported 63,000 jobs in 1990 (Oregon Rivers 



