How many people were fishing in the 50s? Regardless of how one spins it the dams on the Columbia have permanently destroyed somehing like 90% of the spawning and rearing habitat in the river. Salmon don't spawn and rear in the reservoirs. Unless the dams are removed that production of wild fish is totally and forever lost. It can only be pertially replaced by hatcheries; if they are adequately funded, operated and maintained.

Back in the 50s, 60s, and 70s there was probably a lot less people fishing in Alaska and BC, too. Many of the fish caught up there used to return to Washington.

The nets in rivers, while obvious and irritating, generally harvest fewer fish than are taken in ocean fisheries. They are fishing on the leavings, too. While I am certainly not a fan of non-selective fisheries of any type in rivers, we would do more for fish recovery by closing down ALL of the non-selective fisheries in marine waters.