Parker,

You're missing two significant points in this discussion. First, as Aunty points out, removing hatchery springers from the natural spawning ground population is one of the stated management goals. The recreational fishery, with one-quarter the incidental mortality rate of the gillnet fishery, removes four times more hatchery fish per wild fish caught than does the gillnet fleet. Second, it's beyond stupid to split any share of the catch with the non-treaty gillnet fleet. I think you're overlooking that 86.66% (13 of the 15%) of the allowable ESA impact is allocated to the treaty Indian fishery, and all those fish except what are kept for ceremonial and subsistence purposes end up in the commercial fish marketplace. The WA law requiring provision of allowable commercial fishing is more than achieved by the treaty fishery, and allocating the entire 2% non-treaty share of allowable ESA impacts to the recreational fishery.

This whole gillnet v. sport allocation issue for the LCR is just a money grab by the 300 buffalo hunting gillnet license holders still ploying their hobby on the LCR.

Sg