I don't think the politicians are spineless. The Tribes give them lots of money for campaigns. Their second worry is that the Tribes might assert rights to actually having fish available (habitat vs. development).

The State argued in Federal Court that they have the right to destroy fish runs. Their view is that there is no Treaty Right to actual fish; the Tribes should have known that the area would develop and the fish would go away.

This is a lose-lose situation. If the state prevails, fish are screwed. If the Tribes prevail, NI harvest will be further constrained. And the politicians don't want to choke off development.