Studying this graph, I find it interesting that there are basically no 6 year old GH kings that make it past SE-AK and NBC. Any fish genetically destined to be a 6 yr old has already been subjected to relentless pre-spawn harvest pressure thru years 3, 4, and 5 in the ocean pasture that VERY FEW survive to that 6th year. Then they get picked off in the northern portion of their range in that final year. By the time they start their southward migration to home waters there's so dam few left that they don't even show up in any of the WCVI or coastal WA catches. It's literally a genetic dead end for that older/larger phenotype.

Boggles the mind how anyone with half a conscience could willfully bonk one of these oh-so-rare fish when against all odds, one finally reaches home waters.