This thread comes up every year, and every year I send the Aquarium a note. They're generally good about getting back to me and explaining the reasons for the listing. That said, the fact this still has not changed makes it obvious to me that the Monterey Bay Aquarium is no less corruptible than any politician. In other words, the designation of wild steelhead as a "good" alternative is politically-motivated (and we can guess who's providing the motivation).

There are three factors that complicate/confuse this issue:

1. Hatchery steelhead caught in the wild are (appropriately) labeled wild steelhead. To claim that even a meaningful percentage of Quinault steelhead hitting the market this time of year are hatchery raised would be false, but it's a claim they are apparently making.

2. The Aquarium lumps steelhead in with rainbow trout, which is not biologically incorrect, but does designate them part of a much more populous, more sustainable species.

3. Farm-raised triploid trout (a la Rufus Woods) are widely marketed as "farm-raised steelhead." Farm-raised triploids are reasonably sustainable, so lumping wild steelhead in with them, right or wrong, puts them squarely "on the menu."

I would venture a guess that the Aquarium's hands are politically bound on this issue. As many times as they've been properly informed of the plight of wild steelhead, the designation has not changed. It may take a lawsuit (WFC, I'm appealing to you) to get any traction.