Quote:
Originally posted by grandpa2:
Washington Trout's statement that the HGMP's don't make a good enough case for a good reason to provide fish for harvest is not ambiguous to me. They are trying to show that hatcheries are not needed and should be closed. That is what they have been pushing and will continue to push until they either succeed and fishing falls apart or they are stopped. I , for one, will work hard to try to stop themevery chance I get. Make no mistake, I am all for the habitat restoration ideal but I also know that rivers with pristine habitat have no fish and poor habitats have fish so it isn't cut and dried. So many things are under way right now to help the cause of restoring salmon runs that WT's methods are still radical and extreme in my mind.
If I'm not mistaken, your earlier argument was that the wild fish populations are doing very well. If that is indeed the case, then why do we need hatcheries?

In contrast, if the wild populations are not doing well, then one has to ask the questions as to why that might be the case. Sure we're seeing an up turn the past couple of seasons, but it is doubtful that this will be a continuing trend.

Are Hatcheries good or are they bad? Well I'm not sure. It's a very complex issue. That's why various organizations are studying the effects of what we do. Do I like WT? I'm not sure of that either, but it will be interesting to see what data they gather and what their suggestions are.

Are WT's methods extreme/radical? Possibly. Maybe that is what is needed to restore the native runs. Sometimes it takes radical movement in one direction to get the parties opposed to move at all in the other direction. Certainly WT's methods/motives are not meant to bring an end to fishing. It would be like insinuating that the NRA is trying to ban the use of guns...

For me, the jury is still out because like most people on this board, more information needs to be collected and analyzed, by both the conservation groups and us as sport fisherman.

It seems like the purpose of these discussions should be for people to lay out the facts instead of just forming an oppinion based upon heresay.