Back on July 19th, I posted a rather long, somewhat confusing post that might help answer the question. I didn't get any replies to my post which indicates I probably confused everyone. I will re-print it here and can clarify in the future if it helps.

"This has more to do with legal interpretation of the court decisions rather than mathematics. The interpretation regarding the Tribal/State allocation (per the Boldt decision) is as follows:

First and foremost, the needs of the fish must be met. That is, THE FISH COME FIRST. Let's not forget that.

Second, if there are any fish above that needed for spawning, harvest is allocated as follows:

Tribal subsistence and cerimonial fisheries (not commerical) have first rights. However, this fishery is usually quite small.

Second, the Tribes get 50% of the available harvest for commerical purposes. The current interpretation by the Feds is that the Tribes get their allocation first. The State would get the other 50% percent but only if they are not constrained by other factors (e.g., the Endangered Species Act - ESA).

In the case of the Columbia River, the harvest is constrained by ESA listed stocks on the Snake River. Therefore, the level of fishing is dictated by the level of "incidental take" of listed Snake River fish. The National Marine Fisheries Service has set the "incidental take" at 31%. That is, fishing can proceed only until 31% of the Snake River Chinooks are caught. Therefore, the Tribes, States and Feds negotiated the level of incidental take. They are NOT negotiating the overall harvest levels.

Now comes the tricky part. Since the Feds believe (and the courts appear to agree) the Tribes get their 50% share before ESA kicks in, the Tribes are entitled to 100 percent of the incidental take (all 31%) in order for them to achieve their 50% overall allocation. Since the Tribes are entitled to the entire incidental take, the States 50% allocation CANNOT BE HARVESTED. The States end up with zero.

An example might help.

If the overall harvest level for the Columbia River (after spawning escapement and Tribal cerimonial fishery) is say 50,000 Chinook, the Tribes are entitled to 25,000 and the State is entitled to 25,000. But if all 50,000 fish are havested, the harvest of listed Snake River fall Chinooks would exceed the 31% incidental take level (i.e. the Snake River fish might go extinct). Therefore, the overall harvest level must be reduced to prevent the Snake River fish from vanishing. Unfortunately, the levels are not reduced equally. So, let's say that to prevent harvest from taking too many Snake River fish, the total harvest level (as dictated by the incidental take limit) can only be 25,000 Chinook. According to Feds, the Tribes get their cut before the State. Therefore, the Tribes get all 25,000 since they are entitled to 50% of the allowable harvest before ESA kicks in. The other 25,000 (the States 50% share) cannot be harvested because it would exceed the incidental take limit imposed by the ESA. So, the States 50% share of the overall allocation is still there, but it can't be harvested by anglers, commericals, tribal folks, or anyone else.

I'm impressed by the States ability to negotiate ANY fishing season on the Columbia River this fall since they are, in effect, trying to negotiate part of the Tribes 50%allocation. Which they did. But you can bet the States will challenge the Federal interpretation at some point in the future. But it won't be this year.

There will be a fishing season at Buoy 10 this August and I'll be there, along with a million other anglers. But it's hard to believe that, in effect, I'll be trying to catch part of the Tribes allocation...

Given the complexity of the issues, it's easy to see why misunderstandings abound. I'm not sure if I've cleared anything up but at least you have more information.

Salmo G. help me out if I've missed something or my explaination is off.


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MSB