I am on your side.
Tribes have the fishing rights they do because of treaties of the past.
No doubt that aquaculture is the future and our government will probably encourage and maybe help fund it so the tribes get a share, but I seriously doubt half. In the case of Makahs, I believe that no where in their history did they ever practice any substancial form of aquaculture, they have always harvested from the sea, and under "current regulations," you and I see first hand the damage that it causes with today's technology. Yelloweye rockfish for example. Since its been their right for thousands of years, under treaties, they will continue to have the right to commercially fish. By no means is there a treaty granting half of all aquaculture to tribes.
My point is be more critical of the governing/regulatory body(ies) who allow the needless destruction. I'm just sick of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer all the time. There is no doubt in my mind that draggers do sooo much indiscriminate damage and something should be done. But that is the job of our elected officials.
I don't know if you grampa2, or whoever, is famillar with the Recreational Fishing Alliance but they have made some wonderful steps in protecting our ground fishery in the NW in my opinion.
As far as documenting names to place blame for three, or four draggers in Neah Bay, I won't do it. Not when there's Hundreds of them up and down our northwest coast. All contribute to the damage and I refuse to call out the minority on this. It's a bigger issue than just those boats. Besides, how may boats come from Westport, Seattle, ect, to drag the fertile waters off of Cape Flattery?
Are they all run by tribes?
Who cares who's running them, it who is allowing them to do what they do, not the minority, but the majority, backed by Government.
And "if" someone did get a large share of aquaculture in our state, so be it. I'm not interested in the money, just protecting and maintaining the resource. The oppurtunity to sport fish, recreationally, is all that I ask for, and that's what I want for the generations to come. For me fishing is a privlege.
Mr. Vedder, I hope I'm not straying from the point too much.