Originally Posted By: Krijack
I have often wondered when the ownership of fish in the ocean is lost. If a tribe or individual was to tag fish so as to make it identifiable, would he loose ownership? I understand that harvest makes it impossible to distinguish before hand, but could the tribe insist on repayment? Could they put in transmitters that would prevent harvest if the majority of fish "owned" by another entity? Not having complete control of an animal does not necessarily result in a loss of ownership, as can be seen by free ranging cattle and the neighborhood dogs and cats. Just a weird thought. Has anyone ever got a court ruling or definite answer on this? With such high interception rates, I wonder if thing could be done to stop it with this rational.


Great question as I was wondering the same thing myself today. Used to fish CA waters for salmon when visiting my brother and a fish checker at the dock would wand our salmon catch for data. Does WA state plan to go to a wire style system to account for catch? On a boat in the north Pacific could or should a deck hand be tasked for wanding fish and do released fish count against allowable numbers considering mortality rates?? Boy,it does get complicated now doesn't it! Love the effort and thought in this and being at the tail end of the run certainly is not the place to be! Keep up the good work and Good Luck!