I can’t answer Salmo G’s question either, but here’s a possibility (it's an expansion on what Carcassman just wrote).

WDFW has an obligation to support commercial fishing. It’s in their mission statement, as outlined by the State legislature. Unfortunately, they seem to rely heavily on the commercial sector to determine how they do that. WB is an area where WDFW doesn’t have to rely on co-management with the Tribes, or the complications that flow from that. Plus, there aren’t any stocks listed under the ESA.

As such, the commercial folks may see WB as their only opportunity to practice commercial fishing as they once did. They want to be able to take any fish that hits their nets, with the only restriction being getting enough adults to meet hatchery broodstock. The wild fish stocks become ‘collateral damage’, in part because the habitat is marginal for natural reproduction; and natural reproduction will never be able to produce enough adult salmon for a viable commercial fishery in WB. WDFW seems more than happy to accommodate them. Ensuring enough salmon for the commercial sector in WB seems to drive most, if not all, their decisions. The only exception might be the constraints on their budget. They can’t get around a vastly smaller budget than they once had. The decisions on hatcheries are likely driven by dollars.

The WB commercial fishery is somewhat of an anachronism, a relic of the good-ole-days when commercial fishing interests drove fishery management in the State. Everyone else (including the Tribes) caught whatever was left over after the commercial folks took what they wanted. This is what drove Pacific salmon stocks in Washington State to the depths we see today. This will be the result if this continues in WB. Let’s hope the good folks who are focused on WB fishery management take a more enlightened approach. But the news thus far seems disappointing.