Like Todd has said over and over, the WFC suit is not about the appropriateness of hatchery fish. It is that WDFW does not have the required permit. It is a no-brainer; the law requires a permit so get it. If NOAA acts too slowly then take them to Court for their inaction.

The issue of how appropriate hatchery fish are, how to have recovery and still have meaningful fisheries (and attendant public support) are the next battleground.

And no, as Dave Montgomery described in King of Fish, dense populations of fish and people are damn close to mutually exclusive.