There is a certain amount of harvestable salmon and steelhead available. Three groups split the fish; sport, tribal, and commercial fisheries. The commercial and sport fishers split 50% of the harvestable catch. The tribes are allowed the other 50%. This is how it is suppose to be, however, we all know that this is not the case in all situations.
Hatchery fish are provided for the sole purpose to provide fishing opportunities and to be harvested. If this inititive passes, it will eliminate commercial harvest. This will allow more opportunity for sport and tribal fishing, even if WDFW disagrees with that statement. Sportfishing, I don't believe, can not make up the difference for the lack of a commercial fishery (although it certainly will be fun to try). Tribal fishers will be allowed to catch more fish too.
HOWEVER, this will be a great opportunity to change the way fish are managed in Washington. Our hatchery plants could be decreased and yet, still allow more harvest because of the missing commercials. This will bode better for wild fish because of less competition by hatchery smolts for food, space, and predation. Some of the money not spent on hatcheries could be used for habitat restoration. We would be able to eliminate mixed stock fisheries that take wild fish indiscriminantly. We would be able to mark all our hatchery fish and push for the tribes to selectively harvest their fish. All this time, OUR ENDANGERED wild stocks could improve while allowing economic growth by promoting sportfishing and our intrests. Some of this money could go towards enforcement and we could pass some laws that do more than slap the wrist of poachers. The answers are available. If fish managers were allowed to manage from a scientific point and not a political one, our rivers would once again be filled with fish. Bob is right. Anybody ever walk down a river covered with literally thousands of dying salmon carcasses. Those carcasses provide many of the nutrients that will allow healthy offspring. When we constantly commercially harvest millions of pink and chum salmon and sell them for 15 cents a pound when Alaska and Canada have already harvested more than the market can handle, perhaps those fish should be let to die and fortify our rivers for future generations of salmon and steelhead. Chinook, coho, and steelhead would certainly benefit from those rotting, stinky carcasses more than the commercials will.