dave, i agree that the tribes are currently opposed to mass-marking. but i think that if a hatchery uses federal money, the federal government can require that the hatcheries they pay for clip all their steelhead, coho, and chinook.

i plan on writing a bunch of letters after this election (gotta know who to write to, hopefully we'll have a new senator <G> )... because the sportfishing economy really requires a high rate of marking for the selective fisheries to be successful and minimize our impacts on wild fish. if we can make a push for the feds to find the funding for mass-marking and force any facility that uses federal money to raise fish to clip them i think it would be a step in the right direction for all of us, even if the commercial sectors are slow to jump on board.

more marked fish equals more opportunity and results in less hatchery fish competing with wild fish on the spawning beds. just think, if the tribe marked all the salmon river steelhead... the regulations could protect the early-timed winter natives while still allowing plenty of harvest opportunity. i think that would be much better than the current regs.

cb