Marine Area 7 Fishing Rules
A plain-English launch checklist for licenses, catch cards, salmon, bottomfish, crab, shrimp, protected areas, and emergency changes.
Use the three-source check
Washington's annual pamphlet is the baseline, not always the final word. Before leaving the dock, read the current Marine Area 7 table, check emergency rule changes, and confirm the same water and species in the Fish Washington app.
Emergency changes can alter dates, retention, limits, or gear after the pamphlet is printed. If this guide and WDFW ever disagree, WDFW controls.
License and catch record cards
Most anglers age 16 and older need the appropriate Washington fishing license. A catch record card is required when fishing for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, halibut, or Puget Sound Dungeness crab.
Record a retained fish or Dungeness crab before continuing to fish. Paper and approved electronic options exist; choose one system and know how it works before launch.
Read the exact line for your fish
Salmon rules can distinguish Chinook, coho, chum, pink, and sockeye, and can require release of wild or hatchery fish. Verify open dates, minimum sizes, daily limits, release rules, and any subarea closure for the day you fish.
For lingcod, cabezon, rockfish, halibut, and other bottomfish, check the species row plus marine preserves, depth restrictions, gear rules, and descending-device requirements. Halibut seasons are published separately and may use limited open days.
Crab and shrimp have their own clocks
Crab and shrimp openings may use specific days, hours, subareas, gear limits, and reporting rules. Confirm whether your exact part of Area 7 is open, when gear must be removed, what may be retained, and whether a catch card is required.
Do not treat last summer's routine as this summer's rule. Shellfish openings are among the easiest regulations to remember incorrectly.
Whales, preserves, and boundaries
Marine Area 7 contains protected habitats, marine preserves, Canadian-border waters, and important Southern Resident killer whale foraging areas. Know your position, the preserve boundaries, and the applicable vessel-distance rules before fishing.
Washington requires vessels to remain 1,000 yards from Southern Resident killer whales, slow to 7 knots within that distance, and disengage engines at 400 yards or less. Give every whale more room whenever conditions allow.
The five-minute dock check
- License and catch card ready
- Area 7 annual rule table read
- Emergency changes checked for today's date
- Species identification and release rules reviewed
- Marine preserves and international boundary loaded on the chart
- Tides, wind, visibility, fuel, and float plan checked