Thanks for putting your thoughts up, Doc. I think it is important that the sporties go forward knowing the good and bad.

So my concern over the past couple years. The pandering to the bay fishery at the expense of the local in river, blood pressure up yet?. Well hang on don't expire, WDF&W has used it as a tool to keep a more affluent portion of the sport fishing community happy. It comes with a price though as these sports fishers are the most involved in the NOF process and when you mute them it allows WDF&W to mow the hell out of everything with nets as it does not effect the bay and this element of sports fishers as they are in front of the carnage. Last year was a classic as in the sense that yep time on water but very little fish left to catch in river. The bay is a sport fishery to be sure and comes before the bloody commercials but must not be utilized by WDF&W pacify one sector of the sport fishing community that then enables WDF&W to implement policies that are detrimental to the traditional in river sport fishery.

A couple of things, WDF&W on the record said the commercial Hump fishery takes plus / minus a bit 20% Chehalis bound Chinook in that fishery. On the record Doc, just recently. So when we hit the meetings you run those numbers will you as yours are much higher impacts and if your confident your correct then lets go to the wall on it. No more shell games allowed! WDF&W monitors these sites so they will be ready for the question. Oh yes, in addition WDF&W said they DID NOT change anything after the public NOF last year, again on the record. This differs quite a bit from what was presented to me by others, so this time be aware.

Several times I have been told of not enough fish in the Tier plan for a targeted fishery. But the commercials harvest them I responded on the record, to which the response was " they take them indirectly harvesting another species " WDF&W uses the Tier plan bit and terminology to reduce sport take but then allows the commercials to use them and more in incidental takes targeting primarily Coho. Lets do plain English. A dead fish is a dead fish, and limiting sports access to Chinook and Chum ( yes people fish Chum ) then utilizing those fish and escapement to power the non treaty Coho harvest is BS period.

One last bit. The commercials fish by values ( WDF&W terminology ), days to us, but not quotas period. On the record no exceptions. In river sports ( including the bay ) fish a set season with weeks based on historical data during a set time frame. Sounds good but not so fast as it is based on preseason forecast so despite being called something else it is a modified quota. Asked about why no in season update for sports when returning adults exceeded the preseason forecast WDF&W has responded it was not necessary as the Tier system was better. For whom? That is how you get numbers like last year with sports conserving and tribe and non treaty nets taking thousands above the projected harvest.

That is the rub, the Tier plan, not by design but by implementation, places the burden of conservation burden upon the sports and enables commercial harvest at the expense of the average citizen. Now if anyone thinks Doc and I are opposed to each other your wrong. Two different perspectives, two different veiws but same goal. Get the best possible sports fishing season possible for ALL that want to catch and harvest a salmon this fall. That simple, that difficult.