Geoduck Harvest Program Habitat Conservation Plan
December 15, 2008
The wild geoduck fishery in Washington State is jointly managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Puget Sound Treaty Indian Tribes.
Affected Species
- Chinook salmon (Puget Sound),
- Coho salmon (Puget Sound/Strait of Georgia),
- Chum salmon (Hood Canal Summer Run),
- Pink Salmon,
- Steelhead (Puget Sound),
- Green Sturgeon (Southern DPS),
- Pacific Herring,
- Pinto Abalone, and
- Olympia Oyster
Summary
The wild geoduck fishery in Washington State is jointly managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Puget Sound Treaty Indian Tribes. WDNR manages the submerged aquatic lands in which wildstock geoduck grow, and offers at public auctions the right for private companies and individuals to harvest specific quantities from specific areas. WDNR developed a "low effect" ESA HCP to ensure that geoduck harvest activities under Washington State's management are in compliance with the ESA.
A low effect HCP is one that NOAA’s Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determine to have minor or negligible effects on federally listed, proposed, or candidate species and their habitats covered under the HCP. Work conducted under a low effect HCP is determined to have minor or negligible effects on other environmental values or resources. The 50-year permit authorizes the incidental take of covered species associated with management of Washington State’s commercial geoduck fishery in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.