Superfly,

It isn't about 50% of the fishing time. The treaty - nontreaty allocation is about 50% of the harvestable number of steelhead estimated in pre-season forecasts and updated by in-season runsize adjustments.

In some cases, notably the Quillayute as far as I know, the tribe negotiated with WDFW for a fishing schedule rather than a % allocation, based on recreational steelheaders not catching their 50% share of the harvestable number (and hence the scare tactic of foregone opportunity we hear about).

If a tribe is netting 5 days a week, or 7 days a week, that should be OK as long as the tribe's catch remains within the bounds of its 50% share. Because of low ex-vessel fish prices, fewer people are fishing in many tribes now, especially those with alternative economic opportunities. If only 2 or 3 people are fishing from a particular tribe, then they might fish more days per week to try to harvest their tribe's 50% share.

The upshot, is that within legal limits, the number of treaty fishing days per week shouldn't have any significant affect on the number of harvestable steelhead available for you and me.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.