Without going into it too much, a major problem that is occurring on the Queets right now is the "failure" of the non-tribal fishermen (us) to harvest enough of the steelhead. The Quinault tribe argues that, much like salmon fishing, if the non-Indians don't harvest their half, then they should be harvested by Indians so they don't go to "waste", which means more than the bare minimum are left to spawn.
Since all those streams have tribal fishing for steelhead, this would become a large issue there. The "opportunity" to harvest those fish, i.e., leave it open for kill but don't kill our share, would not lead to this problem (maybe, that's what is being decided on the Queets right now), while a mandated C&R season would do it in a heart beat.

A kill fishery with voluntary C&R of natives probably avoids the problem, but there are too many crackers out there who would never voluntarily release a fish. It's kind of a Hobson's choice: Are more natives killed by a kill fishery or by a C&R fishery that leads to increased tribal harvest of natives?

We'll see how it pans out on the Queets and perhaps management can be adjusted for other coastal streams at that point.

Fish on...
Todd.