Obsessed,
I agree with much of what you say, but I'm not shure that you can compare Canada and Oregons situation to Washingtons. I don't think either of these, Oregon and B.C., have a commercial fishery targeting 50% of the steelhead above escapement. Theoretically Washington would have 50% more fish available to the sport fishery if we operated under the same rules as they do. I don't intend this to get into whether treaty rights are right or wrong, it's just the way it is. My point is that C&R might not be the only factor in why Oregon and B.C. appear to have better fishing than we do.
Even though it looks bleak, I hope we can find a balance between the economy/development and a healthy environment, otherwise I'm afraid going to C&R will just be a step closer to no fishing at all. Look at the east coast Atlantic Salmon as an example of this. We have to turn this cronic downward slide of our fish stocks around.
Maybe we could go statewide C&R for the general rules and work with the tribes to sell tags for a reasonable price,say double the market rate per pound per average fish. The number of tags sold would be deducted from their quota. Just an idea. Neal

[This message has been edited by Neanderthal (edited 05-23-2000).]