I was asked to update folks on how the negotiations between WDF&W and the Quinault Nation ( QIN ) are going for the 2014 season. To be honest I do not know all that much more than everyone else does but I did ask a bit back. The response I received is below and is a pretty straight forward assessment. While I could take issue with several of the points regarding the QIN I will leave that for another day. Keep in mind the information below IS NOT my views but another individuals opinion.

I will try my best to lay out the QIN position:
They are upset about the policy because it was developed without them and because we did not go out to them and walk them through it.
Walking them through it didn’t make them feel any better.
They feel like they are now being asked to consider a policy they had no hand in the development of.
They don’t feel that there is a conservation problem in Grays Harbor.
They feel like DFW staff did not push back hard enough that there isn’t a conservation problem in Grays Harbor.
They feel like the recreational anglers are going to come after them next. They specifically pointed out the “Ban Gillnets” sweatshirts that folks wore to the commission meetings.

With regards to this year’s fisheries:
Despite best efforts to point out the low run size of Hump NORs and the fact that we haven’t made the aggregate Chinook escapement goal in the past 2 years, they have not moved off their schedule.
They correctly maintain that all of the agreed-to escapement goals are being met with their original schedule.
They have conveyed that they remain flexible to discuss gear conflict, tides, first starts, etc.
They have conveyed that they don’t feel obligated to help us achieve the policy objectives.
At the last meeting, the issue of 4 calendar days or 96 hours came up. They felt we needed to clarify that. I have asked for that clarification, and it is 4 calendar days. That has really hamstrung us.