This is still an experiment.

They have demonstrated they can release wild fish, and that immediate harm is quite low. But they have not been able to show that the wild fish they handle/release will make it to the spawning grounds. The rate of pre-spawn mortality of released fish is still being estimated. But preliminary indications are that the pre-spawning mortality rate is alarmingly high. If so, that would suggest that handling adult fish this low in the river system results in much higher mortality than if they are handled higher upstream.

Presumably, if this gear type is allowed, the commercial folks will not get an increase in their allocation. They will still be able to catch their quota, and nothing more. I would expect the recreational angling allocation to remain the same too. But that's an open question.

The Tribes long-standing argument on wild/hatchery fish is further reinforced. This is, catching large numbers of hatchery fish before they get over Bonneville Dam reduces the Tribes catch since the proportion of wild fish will increase, and therefore the Tribes will exceed their ESA limits quicker (i.e., before they reach their 50% allocation). They have a good point. This will only make it worse. Ditto for the non-Tribal anglers on the Snake River, and on the Columbia upstream of McNary Dam. The number of hatchery fish that will be available for them to catch will go down.

This gear may be great if an NGO subsidizes the operation (in this instance, WFC). So if WFC funds the nets, they set it up, and provide staff to operate it, it’s really easy and economical. The only thing the commercial folks have to do is run their boat up to it, and shovel in the fish. But if the commercial folks have to do the heavy lifting of setting it up, operating it, separating the wild fish from hatchery fish, and dividing the catch between various fishers, it gets complicated and likely uneconomical.

And it’s not possible for each fisher to have their own pound net (as they would with a gill net). It’s likely that only one or two pound nets would be feasible on the Columbia. As such, I expect the commercial folks will strongly support this gear if an NGO is funding it and operating it. But once they have to fund/operate it themselves, their support may evaporate.

I'm not saying this gear can't be successful on the Columbia. I'm saying it's still an experiment that needs more work to see if it has a future.