Jacob, let's look at it this way.

Totally hypothetical #'s here:

Total run size in our state possible for wild SH - 150,000

Reduction due to habitat damage - 60,000 - new possible run size is 90,000

Reduction due to hydro - 30,000 - new possible run size is 60,000

Reduction due to negative hatchery impact - 20,000 - new possible run size is 40,000

The tribes and sportsmen harvest (including mortality rate on released fish) - 12,000 - new possible run size is 28,000.

Now, the 6,000 that the sportsmen harvest is about 4% of the original maximum carrying capacity. Not terribly meaningful. However, 6,000 of the 28,000 is 21%. Coupled with tribal harvest we reach 42%. Quite meaningful. And clearly not sustainable. Not nearly as meaningful as the cumulative effect of habitat loss, hydro, and negative hatchery impact, but I'm not seeing a great deal done to mitigate those impacts. So, you are right - sport fishers releasing all wild steelhead only delay the inevitable. But maybe that delay will give us the will to tackle the big problems.

I would really appreciate if one of the smart fisheries people would look at the numbers to see if once again my insanity is showing or if the basic tenets are somewhat accurate.