Good point Aunty but... Do you think that with the opportunity to catch fish in the Puget Sound region being what it is the demand for licenses there will ever exceed a reasonable available number?

What we need to regulate is the big meat boats out on the coast. Hundreds of these boats will take tens of thousands of fish in a season.

If unused licenses expired after two years of idleness and went back in the pool availability might be better.

How about if the number limit were smaller for huge ocean charters and a much larger for the smaller 2-4 client charters?

What I'd like to see is each fishing area managed according to its capacity to provide opportunity. Big ocean/big numbers... small creek/no comercial boats. A river like the Cowlitz with lots of fish could support more guides than the Nasselle or Kalama.

We could learn from BC where recreational fishing is fast becoming the priority use for the resourse. They issue numbers of licenses to guide on a river by river basis according to that rivers capacity to provide opportunity. Those licenses are area specific and roaming is not allowable. New river/new license.