But nobody wants to know the answer to that question.

If the Treaties are superior, the State's fishery is in real trouble. And so are the State hatcheries since there is no sense in raising and releasing hatchery fish if the State folks can't fish for them. So the Tribes may not like that option. But its better than the opposite result, which is that the ESA is superior. That puts their Treaty reserved rights, and perhaps all Tribal rights at risk. Again, not a good outcome. And the Feds have always said that both the Treaties and the ESA are important, and need to be implemented as harmoniously as possible.

So a court challenge poses huge risks to everyone. So that's not a path anyone wants to walk down.

I would also add that the 50% allocation from the Boldt decision is not dependent on gear type. The Tribes get that allocation regardless of the gear type they use. It's their decision on gear type.