RT

WDFW does not believe that forgone opportunity would affect allocation issues; they're attorneys have stated as such. They believe (as I hope) that C&R is considered a fully utilized resource, which is the same as "harvest", hence the allocation numbers should be left alone. It is the Department of Interior and Department of Commerce attorneys (home of NMFS and U.S.FWS) that believe that foregone opportunity is valid and should be interpreted as "harvest, such that any fish in the stream that aren't killed by other user groups, go to the tribes.

I don't think forgone opportunity has been tested with steelhead; at least I haven't seen it come up on Puget Sound streams. But I do think there is reasonable legal standing to win this battle. WDFW thinks this issue is as big a headache as we do.