If you read the article, it compares like counts/estimates to other years accounting for dropoff, etc. and the analysis was very conservative so as to not exaggerate the point.

Now that we start doing the math, they don't want to share any harvest information or allow WDFW to share any of their harvest information. Why can't we as a group of fishermen file suite for transparency - we are, after all, those they are supposed to be fishing "in common" with. There's no fishing SECRETLY in common!
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. . . and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and have dominion over the fish of the sea . . .