First to KORE ... you won't have to worry about a private industry steelhead fishery ... do remember that commercial fishing for steelhead in the state of WA was outlawed back in the '30's.

I will have to say that I would love to see traps incorporated into mixed-stock fisheries (see my mention of the Kasilof under the Kenai / Cook Inlet regs) ... where those can take place ... the problem we have here in the state and specifically with the coastal streams in getting this to be emplaced is something that I've mentioned before ... BOTH THE STATE OF WASHINGTON AND THE TRIBES AGREE THAT THE STOCKS ARE HEALTHY ENOUGH TO CONTINUE HARVEST!!! Or so the models say ... but where is there any eveidence in this state of these models working ... nowhere! In all areas of long-term harvest, the fishery has collapsed ... the favorite place of the media is to point fingers at the 'habitat' ... easy to do in some areas ... but you never hear about overharvest by ALL user groups. Until the way in which these runs are modeled and managedis changed, the slaughter will continue until the fishery collapses ... can you say Puget Sound Chinook? A season on them this year??? What in the hell is the state thinking??? A limit of two kings on the rivers?

The changes in Kenai Peninsula, AK regs in recent years are a good example of hopefully preventative measures ... one king limit ... annual limit ... getting away from the simple minimum escapement ... going to higher escapement levels ... in other words, erring on the side of the fish ... our biggest hurdle in WA is not the nets, nor the sport harvest, nor the habitat ... it simply saying that we have goofed, our models haven't been working and inceasing the number of fish we put back on the beds!

[This message has been edited by Bob (edited 03-19-99).]