What CM said. That initial recovery goal to which you continue to refer has absolutely nothing to do with recovery of the PS Chinook ESU under the Endangered Species Act. Just get that "recovery goal" out of your head. The ESA is what you have to contend with now. The other difference that I mentioned (again, a recollection from some time ago) is that these particular hatchery fish have been deemed essential to recovery. That basically means that they are treated like naturally produced fish, and you can't have directed fisheries at naturally produced fish. They can be caught incidentally in fisheries directed at hatchery fish, that have not been designated essential to recovery. So...in my mind, a valid question might be "Is this (segregated) hatchery population still essential for recovery?" The answer to that would probably also answer the question about biology or politics.

(Again, my comments about the status of this particular hatchery population and what that means are based on a recollection from a long time ago. I know that there are people that are still involved with salmon recovery that view and post on this board. At least I think there are. Hopefully they can fill in the details that I no longer can. Perhaps they can also show that I am wrong. We shall see!)