[/QUOTE] Stopping tribal gill netting and sale of wild steelhead would be a much more noble goal. [/QB][/QUOTE] [/QB][/QUOTE]

GP: That is 100% right. Much of the problem on O.P. rivers is too much Indian harvest. But the collapse of B.C. streams was definitely NOT related to tribal harvest. The truth is our wild steelhead are assaulted from all sides. I agree with many who say that if the runs are in trouble stop C&R. I believe that some rivers are in such bad shape that
a total closure is the answer. But the WDFW data indicated that at least one of the four rivers is typically meeting escapement goals and the other only recently dipped beneath escapement goals. (I may be a bit off on that statement, as I do not the data in front of me.)

If a river is in decent shape, I think a C&R fishery is a good idea. If a river is in serious trouble I believe we do need a complete closure and that included Indians.

But the C&R issue is one that we can do rapidly. Controlling WDFW goofy escapement goals, (Which I believe are set to make the commercials happy, and controlling Indian netting are much more difficult goals. We should not abandon one effective tool just because other remedies are difficult. I sincerely hope RFA tackles some of the more difficult issues of escapement goals and Indian netting.