Todd, I issued a challenge earlier. Im still waiting for proof.

In regard to the Fed ESA policy, the Feds dont seem to care, whether the limit is 2% for us and 13% for the tribes, otherwise they would have done something to lower the ESA percentage over the years.

It takes no more ink to increase the daily limit for sportfishing than it does to increase the commercial harvest. Those who believe the harvest would go beyond an even split with sportfishing are overlooking the economic value of the sport fishery and disregarding the outrage that sportsmen have for commercial fishing and the politics of the Department. Another factor that Im confident of, is that some commercials will not make the change and sell their license back to the state. Fleets continue to shrink due to overharvest. Commercial fishing is one of many choices in the job market. The net result will be a higher quota for commercials depending on the license buyouts. I dont know how they grade fish, but the end product, that insnt all chewed up with be worth more in the stores.

I also believe there will be a net increase of hatchery fish, of salmon and steelhead, because the dropouts and seal theft should go down. As long as we can mandate the daytime use of the nets, they will have better control of the net and and a more complete record of season harvests. This would allow for more accurate counting of wild fish each season to identify trends. If we do see recovery, our ratio of wild to hatchery fish will change.

If the purse and beach seine nets have to be manned at all times, we wont have nets sitting in the water, reducing indiscriminant fishing and spoiled fish. A lost net may not endanger marine life like a typical ghostnet. Likewise changes in sport gear will damage fewer upstream hatchery and wildfish. It could give the department the ability to allow a wild fish to be kept by a sportsmen if the fish was bleeding out as part of the daily limit. Rules could be put in place to keep the public honest, since eventual recovery will automatically increase the chances of catching a wild fish.

The results are a double edge sword to the Feds. If we dont see recovery after the gear has been change by both commercial entities and sport harvest, they will be under the gun to make improvements to downstream survival, and spawning area. I think the benefits of selective gear go beyond fish survival. Another possible action could come as a result of selective harvest gear. If results from selective gear as I have detail do not happen, we will have a much stronger case to ban the nets in the river.