I don't think its easy to argue that the sockeye program hurts the resident rainbows or steelhead or chinook parr in the cedar. Think of all the easy food in the form of eggs and sockeye fry that those fish get to eat. They also get to eat all of the hatchery fry too.

I think WT could easily make the argument that the sockeye program is very detrimental to the native lake WA cutthroat. Not only do all the sports anglers catch (and frequently kill) these big cutthroat, but the indians catch and kill lots in their gillnets. Even if only 1 cut is killed for every 100 sockeye that could add up to thousands if not tens of thousands of dead cutts. I don't think there all that many in the lake and the kind of harvest the cutthroat take year in and year out may very well wipe them out. Until recently the cutts had 3 or so years between sockeye seasons to recover, but once the hatchery program is running smoothly, they will be harested yearly

Not to mention that the sockeye fry compete with the native cuttroat for food, etc.

I predict with the increasing sockeye pressure the lake washington cutthroat will diminish.

Geoduck