Jim,

Nets? Unfortunately, that's not even the half of it.

When salmon are delisted from the ESA, the Snake and Columbia River dams won't be required to spill water for the spring juvenile out-migration of both hatchery and wild fish. It won't matter whether ocean survival conditions are good or poor. Few adult salmon will return, and this excellent chinook salmon fishing we've had lately will return to obscurity.

A very small proportion of the Columbia River salmon and steelhead are taken by nets, treaty or non-treaty. The majority of the Columbia River salmon and steelhead are "harvested" by power dams, and lacking the protection of the ESA, I expect those "harvests" to increase.

Sorry, but nets are not the real issue. They are one issue, albeit a smaller one. Protecting fish so that they can survive throught their life cycle is the real issue if you want fish. The proposed policy will expedite the extirpation of salmon and steelhead on many rivers, particularly the Columbia.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.