I think you just hit the nail on the head Kevin. The region-wide factor limiting wild steelhead production across the entire OP is OVER-harvest by tribal gillnets.

It is THE singular unifying problem causing the continued decline of steelhead runs in the Westside Olympic Peninsula streams.... streams touted as being the last "healthy" steelhead streams in the entire state.

These runs are like a critical patient in need of a full court press by a hospital ICU , not some podunk country doc making the occasional housecall. They're tanking, and if we don't do something soon, these "healthy" runs will be dead, just like so many other wild steelhead runs across the state. It's just ridiculous WDFW has to wait til the runs are on death's door before they are prompted to prudent action.

BTW many of us acknowledge the whims of the ocean pasture as it relates to adult survival. Yes runs go up and down, as they naturally should. But the population trends for steelhead are just like a failing stock portfolio that yoyo's up and down.... some years good some years bad.... but over time, the overall trend line still slopes decidedly downhill.