My initial public comments were along the line of:

*** Require agreement between the QIN and WDFW as to harvest parameters, model inputs, and 50% sharing.

*** Protect under escaped runs.

*** Region 6 to advocate for Grays Harbor bay returns through our PFMC representative (especially for Chinook).


While these are all favorable for improved recovery of critical runs they do not address the elephant in the room which is the continual effort by all groups to over harvest.
My input at the next meeting focused on how fish are shared between user groups. The advisors and even the public view of sharing is somewhat of a gentlemanly compromise between stakeholders. WDFW is trying to use the rec input and the gill net input to give the commission a bracket to base policy on.

I personally have more of an economic view of how sharing should be considered. My public input on this subject included the following points:

*** There are three existing commercial fisheries in Grays Harbor
*** 58% of the fish are mandated for tribal commercial fisheries
*** Recreational fishing is constrained by commercial harvest.
*** The TCW-2008 study clearly demonstrates that the economic contribution of recreational fishing per fish caught vastly out weighs the economic contribution from commercial fishing.
*** The ex-vessel value of the non tribal commercial catch probably does not justify the cost or time put into the business. Is this a hobby?
*** WDFW (internal document) spends $382,000/year to manage a commercial fishery with a 13 year average average ex.vessel value of $92,652/year (range $10,636 to $217,550).

When I worked in private industry the state expected a business to pay the cost for the state to manage our environmental performance. If commercial fishery management costs were paid for by the Non Treaty gill netters the business would be clearly uneconomic and would quickly go away.

My recommendation was that a rigorous economic study of the NT gill net business should be conducted. The apparent conclusion is that this business should not exist. This would lead to the recommendation that the Commission consider the option of ELIMINATING the NT gill net industry.

If Region 6 even remembers my input they are probably still getting a good chuckle out of it.