Rich

Before one can support going to total c&r for all wild steelhead; one must first establish what is really causing the problem. Is it "sport fishing" that really is causing the decline? Or is it some other harvester that is helping in causing the wild steelhead runs to decline?

Since "wild" steelhead are not marked or CWT (coded wire tagged), how can we say with any certainty that they are not part of someone else's harvest? I hear a lot of "theories" out there, but I do not hear any science to back up those "theories" I know that the picture below shows only "fall chinook", but it also shows how the species is harvested. Have you ever seen any such data like this that relates to how "wild steelhead, or any steelhead is harvested? I think not! Why hasn't that information been established yet?

What science can one use to support the theory that c&r will help our wild steelhead to recover? I believe that most people would not mind erroring on the side of the fish if they had any science to back up that sport fishing is the major cause for our decline of wild steelhead. Where is that science? Millions of CWT have been used now for over 30 years, and we are now just seeing the full data that they have given.

Why hasn't WDFW taken wild steelhead smolts and clipped them, and given them CWT? After you view how Cowlitz fall chinooks are harvested, one must ask; how many wild steelheads are being harvested from someone else or other source? Are we really looking at the "big picture"? Or are we only looking into a narrow little peep hole of the big picture; or are we just seeing what we want to see?

How in the world can we "manage" wild steelhead for MSY or MSH, or for that matter, anything when we don't even know who in the hell is doing the harvesting?