For the first time, sport fishing guides in Washington state are now required to keep logbooks of their guiding activity.
In August of 2019 the state legislature approved a law requiring that guides keep track of how many clients they guide, where they guide, what they catch, and more.
The new logbook rule went into effect Jan. 1.
Some guides have welcomed the logbooks, while others are unhappy about it.
The rule came about after guides who fished the rivers of the Olympic Peninsula complained about out-of-region guides crowding into the rivers they fished. The problem was that the WDFW had no idea just how many guides were fishing those rivers.
Chris Donley, the WDFW Region 1 director, and the point man on logbooks for the WDFW, said that the issue brought the logbook discussion to the fore.
“There was legislation that was co-sponsored by a couple legislators from the Forks area that was proposing a limited entry model into the Olympic peninsula fishery,” Donley said. “Because It was basically conjecture, our recommendation was we should start a logbook requirement and be data driven in our decision making.”
“Contrary to popular belief we actually do use data to make decisions.”
Guides will have to record the number of people guided each day, along with their client’s Wild ID number, where they fished, how many fish were caught, how long they fished, the name of the river fished, and what section they fished. Guides must also note the days they took their guide boats out on non-guided trips.
There are guides who do not like the new rule, but there are also guides who see advantages to be gained.
One of the latter is guide Cameron Black of Gone Catchin’ Guide service, one of the popular “Addicted Fishing” guides of Southwest Washington.
“I think we could use this (data) as a tool to legitimize our industry,” said Black. “We play an important role in getting anglers that wouldn’t have the means, or would not have the ability, to participate in fisheries.”
“As far as getting new license sales and getting people engaged, we would like to see some quantification of that.”
Things that Black feels that the department could find out are exactly how much guides are contributing economically to the regions they are fishing.
On the flip side, many guides are alarmed and worried that the data may be used against them.
Steve Leonard of Steve’s Guided Adventures agrees that the data could help the guiding industry but is worried about that flip side.
“I hope they do not use it against us or use it to shut fishing down,” Leonard said.
That was a concern raised by Black as well.
“Are other groups and agencies going to use this against us as far as restricting or limiting fisheries?” Black asked.
“They’re concerned that we are going to take the data and use it against them,” Donley said. “There is that possibility, but that is not our intent.”
Another concern is privacy. Will the public be able to request data that tells where each guide spends their time and effort?
“Under the laws of the state of Washington, all that information is proprietary,” Donley said. “We can’t give away somebodies private business information.”
Black has followed the issue, and knows that the information will be protected.
“Nobody is going to be able to go back and see where Cameron Black was fishing in January, none of that,” Black said. “The logbook data is no different than the commercial fishing logbook data. No one can do a public records (request) and get it.”
The logbooks will mean some extra work for guides.
“It’s definitely going to be hard on us guides,” Leonard said. “We must do it before we leave the boat ramp and have to do it in the pouring rain. We have to get all the information from our customers.
“I don’t mind the extra work as long as they do something with the data that is going to help our sport fishing industry.”
A lack of hard data makes it tough to for WDFW to make informed decisions.
“Before this they couldn’t tell you if there were 50,000 trout guided trips or 20 perch-guided trips or 20,000 salmon trips,” Black said. “So, I think some of that info could be really valuable, not just to the state but to people that are advocating for sport fishing activities.”
The logbooks could provide specific information about regions, such as the Olympic Rivers, that could help the department answer questions about particular fisheries.
“It could tell us how many people are fishing, where are they from, and how often do they do it,” Donley said. “Is it affecting the quality of the experience or affecting the ability of people to catch fish? So, lets really be able to look at that.”
The WDFW does glean information from the catch-record cards, but that is voluntary, and only about 40 percent of anglers turn that in. And, it does not collect info on whether a guide was used to catch a fish. Catch record cards also only cover a few species.
There are other issues with the cards.
“They are still two years behind in entering the data from catch record cards,” Black said.
He also wonders why there was not a test or two of the system first.
“Instead of rolling it out with everybody in all regions, do a test program with about 30 guys across the state and try that first, he said.
However, the rule is now law, and it should become clear soon if the effort achieves what is hoped.
If it does, when issues such as the crowding of the Olympic rivers becomes an issue, the department should have the data to make an informed decision.
