That's the hell of it. The only people who suffer when a sacrifice needs to be made are the citizens who pay the lion's share of the costs to produce fish they can't retain. I think it's pretty damned admirable for us sport anglers to be so generous as to pay to produce fish for other people to catch for a profit.

I'm glad the fish have the GHMP and WBMP to protect them; they most assuredly need them. I just wish the sacrifices were shared a little farther up the fisheries totem pole. THAT would result in better fishing in every river where salmon swim, and it would guarantee higher escapements, since we all know anglers can't catch them all, no matter how many are there. As long as we have hatchery fish that MUST be caught, wild runs will continue their downward slide. We need to realize that a spawned-out carcass in a river has infinitely more value to the future of fisheries (and the families that depend on them) than a pair of fillets at the market. That's the restraint that is sorely needed.