I kinda doubt that WDFW has much of an idea as to how the whitefish are doing. It is hard enough to evaluate something as big, obvious, and predictable as salmon.

On some of my other groups there is developing a lot of interest in whitefish as their numbers appear to decline, as agencies take action to remove them (they "compete" with salmonids), and so on. They are seeing that as the whitefish decline, so do the trout and they are wondering if whitefish eggs/fry are a critical part of the trout diet.

I think it was Aldo Leopold who said something like "The hallmark of intelligent tinkering is to keep all the parts." All the parts.