That is a interesting way to look at it. The fact is in our state most streams are managed to MSY which has zero to do with maximum seeding of a watershed in fact the low producing streams in most basins will go pretty much to token numbers of spawners and the moderate producing streams will hang on. The higher producing tribs in our state will then on average do OK. This only as to seeding but nothing as to the web of life that powers watersheds off of species interaction and nutrients the salmon life cycle provides.

Habitat is always critical with any living creature but with salmonids it is only one leg of the stool. With reduced productivity from human activity one must reduce harvest and not go down the road that we can rebuild habitat that took 200 years to screw up. Additionally the protection of streams that have had the least human impacts or access can be ( removing blockages ) restored should be of primary focus.

Regardless of all that until everyone stops deceiving themselves that harvest, in particular marine interception for Chinook, is not the driving force on the recent rapid decline of many stocks not much will change. When we get down to the last fish we can have a lotto as to gets to catch it and then run yelling down the road it is all the habitat.