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National Park Service Closes Fishing Season On Queets River Due To Low Fish Numbers

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Compiled from NPS releases

Published Date

December 6, 2024

The Queets River is closing to steelhead fishing until next summer/NPS file

Declines in wild steelhead populations have prompted the National Park Service to close the Queets River in Olympic National Park in Washington state to sport fishing.

The closure will be enacted on December 16 and last until June 1, 2025. However, anglers can continue to catch hatchery steelhead in the Salmon River through February 28, 2025. 

The forecasted return of wild steelhead is below the management goal, the Park Service said Tuesday. Given anticipated commercial and sport fishing impacts and the long-term declines in total run size and escapement, this temporary closure is necessary to maintain the Queets wild steelhead population, it added.

Queets wild steelhead have experienced long-term declines in annual run sizes and low escapements in recent years. Wild steelhead have failed to reach the Washington state and National Park Service escapement goal of 4,200 fish in each of the last eight years. The recent status review by NOAA Fisheries determined that Olympic Peninsula steelhead are at moderate risk of extinction. 

Fisheries within Olympic National Park are managed to provide diverse fishing opportunities, allow for the harvest of hatchery steelhead, and preserve wild salmonid populations. For current fishing regulations throughout park waters, visit this site. 

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