So here in Grays Harbor, the MSST is defined as one half the aggregate MSY spawner goal for the entire basin (no separation of Hump and Chehalis)

In the cited table, the MSY goal is listed as 11388 kings and the MSST is listed as half that number, or 5694 kings.

Interestingly, that does NOT reflect the co-managers' (WDFW/QIN) current aggregate chinook goal of 13146. Under that MSY spawner goal, the MSST should be 6573. I've got a call out to help reconcile the discrepancy.

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So how does all of that shake out for a river like the Chehalis that has only met its chinook goal 4 times in the past 20 years?

Looking back at the last 8 years (data presented at first NOF meeting about GH) managers were overfishing GH chinook 5 of those years.

But because not one of those overfishing years has come anywhere close to reaching the MSST, PFMC will do nothing to improve the plight of Chehalis-origin kings.

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Same story goes for Humptulips coho.... a stock that has NOT reached it's wild spawner goal but once in the past 20 years!

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This aggregated mixed-stock harvest model really works AGAINST key natural populations. Their individual demise is simply masked from an aggregate perspective

As far as GH chinook, the Council can simply shed any responsibility because exploitation rates on GH-origin kings in PFMC fisheries is already VERY low (historically somewhere in the 3-4% range). PFMC could wash their hands clean and reasonably claim that the PFMC fisheries do not substantially contribute to the overfishing on this stock. By the PFMC's own conservation standard, there is no compelling reason to change.