Originally Posted By: Todd

The only way that we get more is if everyone says "Hey, commercial guys...you've done so well to lower your mortality rate that we've decided to give some of your allowable impacts to the sporties. Yeah, we know, you've invested in this gear, bigger crews, and all, and yeah, even though we've been telling you all along you'll get more hatchery fish for doing so, I think we can all agree that it would be better if we just gave some of your impacts to the sporties. I'm sure we can count on your support in this!"...

For real? Really? I mean, I know it's the Christmas season and all, but I don't think the State or the Cowboys are in that giving of a mood...especially when every single press release on the subject says flat out that they are doing this specifically to give the Cowboys access to more hatchery fish.
Fish on...

Todd

Actually this is how the WDFW long term plan reads.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/policies/c3617_attch1.pdf

Long Term:

(d) Continue moving away from allocation-based fishery management to objective-based fishery management. This shift allows solutions that may improve both fisheries, rather than improving one fishery at the expense of another. This approach will require both sides to concede some ground on their stated positions in order to gain actual improvements in their fisheries. It will also require investment of additional resources in commercial fishery infrastructure and several years’ patience to implement changes.

So the correct answer to this threads title is selective fishing won’t ruin sport fishing when the long term goal is to improve both groups harvest respectively. Considering how the longer term mortality study does. The closer to the recent commercial selective live release mortality that was 1/10th of 1% the more fish shared by commercials and sport in the LCR when the study is done. It could be great fishing in the CR in a few short years.
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