CFM,

Uh, oh...you missed that one...

Quote:
Science: Quote: "WDFW Biologist Dan Rawding (1998) found that encounter rates of wild winter steelhead in selective fisheries were similar to harvest rates that occurred when anglers were permitted to retain wild steelhead."
"Harvest Rate"= amount of fish killed

"Encounter Rate"=amount of fish encountered, i.e., caught.

Using the probably more accurate mortality rate for fish that are released, (3% to 5%), one of every 20 to 33 fish "encountered" are killed. Even using the quite conservative number that WDFW uses to calculate mortality, which is 10%, one of ten fish released is killed.

The mortality associated with the "harvest rate" is 100%, it's the amount of fish bonked.

If a fishery changes from wild fish retention to wild fish release, and the encounter rate doesn't change, then the amount of mortality on wild fish automatically is reduced by 90 to 97%.

Quote:
One more fact that shows that the Commission did not use all "available science" to make their decision!
I'd say reducing mortality by over 90% without reducing the total fish landed by sportfishermen is a pretty good decision from the science end.

I'm sure you assumed, or read it too fast, that "encounter rate" and "harvest rate" mean the same thing, therefore just as many fish were killed in a WSR fishery as in a harvest fishery. Wrong by a very large margin on that account.

Fish on...

Todd
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Team Flying Super Ditch Pickle