Its the balance between predator and prey... more fish mean more seals and sealions (and fishermen) and less krill and baitfish... when the balance swings too far one way or the other one end will die off until balanced is reached again... (way over simplified but hopefully you get the idea)

Salmon and Steelhead are a unique creature in that they spend their life in many different ecosystems over a very short life span. They also have huge impact on the health of those ecosystems. I for one, am not comfortable with man screwing with the health of the rivers, puget sound, and the pacific ocean... there is just too much that can go wrong (and already has)...

Lucky for us it will not be up to me to decide what to do... I would cut off all ocean harvest... cut off harvest in all rivers that wont support it and focus on recovering the natural spawning in rivers. Hatcheries should only be in place where a neccessary dam is in place (cheap electricity is nice). Those hatcheries should be removed when fish passage as well as new turbine diversion structures are in place... Mean while we better get used to eating farmed fish, Seal, Sealion and commorants... Call it a "Piper Dream" if you will.


Edit: I would also eliminate fishing for profit (or strictly regulate it) as it leads to over consumption and waste.