If the Tribes are netting prior to the escapement goal being attained, they are fishing for "cerimonial and subsistance" (C&S) purposes. This is a limited fishery for tribal uses, including religous purposes. As far as I know, the fishery is not for commerical purposes. That can't happen until the escapement goal is reached (300K or whatever). So the tribes can't sell C&S fish. I would hope they would significantly restrict their C&S take until it is apparent that the escapement goal is within reach. Even if they don't, they're not taking alot of fish. But that is probably beside the point for most anglers.

Lastly, it is safe to assume the escapement goal for sockeye is determined by evaluating the capacity of the spawning grounds for the adults and the productivity of Lake Washington for the juveniles. It's not a difficult calculation for a salmon biologist but biology is probably not the only factor that goes into the estimate.....