The suit was not a test about whether or not hatchery fish hurt wild fish. It was solely about having permits. WFC got most of the hatchery steelhead out of the rivers they were interested in, they got attorney's fees, and they didn't have to actually go to court.

As others here have noted, for WFC to get hatchery fish tossed on the merits of their impacts will mean they will have to prove a problem after NOAA, WDFW, and the Tribes have agreed they don't when used as permitted. All they had to prove here was that WDFW did not have a permit. WDFW set a pretty low bar (probably still on the ground) for them to get over.