Smalma,

Thanks for noticing that. As it turns out, I did receive an email that Phil's run size estimate was for wild steelhead only, and not aggregated hatchery and wild. I didn't know I was looking at incomplete information. I think we all agree that having all the salient information is essential to understanding what's going on in the Chehalis basin.

Given the 5 day a week net fishery for months on end, it would be helpful to also know what the expected fishing effort is. If this were a full fleet fishery, it doesn't seem likely that the treaty harvest would be as low as predicted. Without more and better information, I can easily understand that many fishermen feel the steelhead stock is being managed into oblivion. If the effort is low, and the number of units of gear is also low, then the number of days/week fished doesn't appear so reckless.

I'd rather see better state and tribal communication of management information so that we're less likely to read about rumors of WDFW trading commercial steelheading for increased non-treaty commercial salmon fishing on the internet. I admit I was willing to accept that there might be substance to the rumor, given WDFW's lower Columbia gillnet intentions for wild steelhead, and that the poor December showing of steelhead in the Chehalis tribs and Humptulips recreational catch seemed to bear consistency to the rumor.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.