Why doesn't someone send that bit of info to the Daily Olympian????

"I fail to see how WDFW can open this fishery for anyone. These are ESA-listed fish. This is NOT incidental take. It’s direct take. And there are no hatchery smelt that might compete with wild smelt on the spawning grounds. These are all wild fish. NMFS can exempt ‘incidental take’ but I’m not sure how they can allow ‘direct take’ of a listed species.

Plus, there is no requirement to possess a fishing license! This galls me more than anything. Given their budget situation, why does WDFW allow participation in this fishery without a license?! Anyone from anywhere can dip 10lbs of an ESA listed species without so much as a $15 fishing license. So an unlimited number of people can harvest a State-owned resource without providing any support to the State. I know of no other fishery anywhere in the State that allows the harvest of a State-owned resource without a license. How hard is it to require one?

And given the precarious situation in the ocean, principally the lack of forage fish, why are we harvesting the spawning adults?

This is an outrage, on a number of levels."