Keeping dark hens topic hit the other BB. Would like some opinions from here too. This is my take on it:

[A guy asked "what's the difference between keeping dark or bright fish? You still have taken a spawning fish out of the river."] ...

The difference and ethics are simple - the bright fish feeds people a lot of quality food, and quite a few people per fish. Any quality food supply that comes into the general supply has a beneficial effect ... sort of a 'ripple' effect in that other food then does not get consumed by a fishermen's family and friends, as a result is available for other consumers. It can put a tiny dent in the demand and prices of other foods and prices and availability for needy people in this region. Furthermore, a bright fish still has the heart and vessel healthy omega-3 oils intact; dark fish do not! ... OK, not so simple, but credible. Also, since bright fish are usually kept, they are part of the appropriate harvest equations that the ODFW/WDFW use in allowing fishing seasons on them. Dark fish about to spawn aren't usually counted into these equations; certainly not the ones not tagged by unethical foolish loose egg hunters. Dark fish, especially hens, are just bad tasting mush meat barely pet food gradeable. So there is no benefit, smoked or not, to the incoming general food supply. And in that condition the eggs will be from very loose to unusable. NO REASON to keep these fish! Great use for spawning! What makes killing these even sicker is the fact that the primarily native runs of fall chinook in the Tillamook area rivers, as well as other regional area rivers, have made the great struggling journey back to spawn and continue the species only to be uselessly slaughtered by utterly naive or unethical fools. How would you like to be pulled off your 'spawning bed' just before achieving your goal - for life? LET DARK FISH SPAWN

[ 09-18-2001: Message edited by: RT 1 ]