Jim,

In a word, probably. The peninsula rivers are the most productive steelhead streams in the state. Also, the Quinault Tribe doesn't mark its hatchery steelhead, so many unmarked steelhead harvested in the Queets are of hatchery origin. That would tend to reduce the 7,000 unmarked steelhead slightly. The escapement goal for the Quillayute system is 5,000 as I recall. Ignoring the merits, or lack of, of a harvest oriented management approach, the harvest rate is only too high if it results in a harvest that returns an escapement of less than one fish per spawner of the previous generation, on average. I have heard that a healthy wild steelhead population can support an average harvest rate of about 35% with no subsequent decrease in run size. So if those 7,000 harvested unmarked steelhead were from runs averaging 20,000, and the 35% harvest rate assumption is an accurate one, then yes, they likely can sustain that harvest over time. If any of the assumptions are false, then the conclusion is also false.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.