Originally Posted By: Todd
In Puget Sound (outside the Skagit, at least, for now) if there are no hatcheries, there are no hatchery fish.

If there are no hatchery fish, there is no fishing.

Without addressing the factors that are limiting wild fish stocks there will not be enough wild fish to provide "opportunity".



great points under the current management regime by wdfw, but there are rivers in other ESU's that have catch and release fisheries on wild fish that are listed as threatened with no hatchery fish available. hell, wdfw opens the wind when there are enough fish but cannot open the skagit when it exceeds escapement.

i don't know what it would take for wdfw to push for this type of management regime, or if being in the boldt area changes everything but i think there is a way to have some non-consumptive opportunity. consumptive opporunities do require hatcheries for steelhead right now.