2026 Puget Sound Summer Kings (large quota cuts)

Looking like large reductions in 2026 Summer king opportunities are coming, for areas I typically fish:
Marine Area 9   down from 2025's 3,900 harvest quota to 2,650; open dates 7/16-7/18
Marine Area 10 down from 2025's 3,166 harvest quota to 1,300; open dates 7/23-7/25
 
More info here:

https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2026-04/pfmc-publiccall-202604012.pdf

https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2026-04/2026-2027-marine-area-fisheries-proposals-04122026.pdf

Sorry to read this.

I poked around the internet looking for the 'why' but came up empty. Low snowpack? Bad ocean conditions?

MA5, MA9 and MA10 took hits to address conservation concerns mainly on Snohomish chinook but also Stilliguamish and Nooksack chinook. Apparently one of the drivers of the status of the Snohomish Chinook is the declining number of Snoqualmie Chinook spawners. We had a related discussion on the North of Falcon process that plans the fishery seasons on another fishing forum, see below for the link, hope this helps:
https://pnwflyfishing.com/forum/index.php?threads/nof-2026.12565/

Also some snippets from a recent WDFW news release and the full news release below:

“Fisheries co-managers are continuing to work to rebuild Queets coho and prioritizing conservation of Nooksack spring Chinook, Stillaguamish Chinook, Snohomish Chinook, and Skagit summer/fall Chinook. In spite of our efforts, climate change and pinniped predation continue to be the greatest threat to salmon recovery. We had record flooding last winter, which scoured out the escapement and spawning we achieved through conservation. Scientists are predicting a record El Niño this winter, bringing more warm, wet winter weather, and each summer we are seeing persistent marine heat waves out in the Gulf of Alaska where our fish feed to grow to maturity,” Johnstone said. “Adding insult to injury, if our fish survive all of that, they are being eaten by seals and sea lions that have learned to come upriver and target our most vulnerable runs.”

https://wdfw.wa.gov/newsroom/news-release/washington-recreational-salmon-fishing-seasons-tentatively-set-2026-2027

Hey thank you for the links & info. Poor things can't catch a break.

Sorry to read this.

I poked around the internet looking for the 'why' but came up empty. Low snowpack? Bad ocean conditions?

Low abundance on returning Snohomish wilds while having a higher abundance of aged 2’s. Area 5 and Area 10 hit aged 2 hard. It’s single year thing and quotas will likely return next year.