I would encourage everybody to right letters to washington trout and forward to wdfw.

This is a letter I wrote to washington trout regarding there lawsuit. I also sent it to P.S.A and wdfw maybe this to will change your mind about supporting them.

I found this action very disturbing. Though I disagree with how the state runs its hatcheries. Shutting down hatcheries right now would most likely mean the end of salmon. Would you not say we have more serious problems to take care of first? What about the millions of salmon smolts that are killed due to the commercial seining of herring, not only are they taking the food source away but why don’t you take a ride on one of those boats undercover. I found out about this years ago at point defiance there was literally five gallon buckets full of dead salmon smolts that were caught because they run along with the herring. How about the thousands of wild salmon that are pitch forked and snagged by the local residence out of the smaller rivers and creeks throughout our state. I don’t believe the big rivers were where the majority of are salmon stocks, we have thousands more smaller ones that were once packed with Salmon but now are barren just like are big rivers would be without hatcheries. Talk to an old timer that use to fish back in the days, I do. Hatcheries were not put in effect before the decline of salmon they were put in effect after the decline of salmon. So how can they be the cause? The state spends its resources seemingly more on busting the little guys for things like barbed hooks and not punching there cards after catching the fish. While the big time offenders are having a heyday. Why is this? Are they having to
spend too much money fighting lawsuits? What about the Indians raking herring roe off the eel grass beds to sell to Japan. Once I could run my boat with my eyes closed, stop, look down and see herring! Not anymore. How about people netting salmon just for the eggs? I have witnessed this every year at the Skokomish. they get something like eight dollars a pound for the eggs but almost nothing for the meat so they throw the carcasses away, not even in the river where they might do some good. I could go on and on with more examples of whats killing our salmon but its two something in the morning and I’ve got to go to work in four hours. Your lawsuit appears to be well written and has some factual information, but it just doesn’t make any sense to someone like myself who has fished all over this state and seen so much more destroying the tyee than hatcheries.