GodLovesUgly-

According to WDFW's web site the 2017 Stillaguamish coho was 9,142 adults to Washington waters. While that is a concerning forecast not sure that I would go so far as to call it horrifying.

The coho escapement base for the Stillaguamish goes back to 1965. Excluding what was seen in 2015 the escapement in the basin has been at or below 9,000 spawners eight times. While I'm sure that the co-managers what to see escapements that low the evidence is that the population has rebounded for that sort of poor escapements.

If the co-managers thought that the forecast was so horrific why would they agree to a suit of fisheries that is expected to kill 7.5% of the run?

I would understand and support the closure of the Stillaguamish basin to recreational salmon fishing in 2017 but why the fishing for the game fish species? How is it that game fish seasons are closed in a salmon season setting process? Even worst those seasons were done without any meaningful opportunity for public input and comment; a significant break with a more than 75 year procedure for setting game fish season in this state.

If the co-managers are going to allow a 7.5% impact on the Stillaguamish coho to access other stocks of Chinook and coho in mixed stock fisheries why can some of that impact be used for game fish?

More to the point of that 7.5% co-manager allowed impact only 1.6% (21.3% of the total) is attributed to non-treaty fisheries. If indeed the co-managers think things are so horrific why are the tribal impacts as low as the non-treaty impacts? On the surface it looks as if the Stillaguamish and Skagit game fish season were closed to provide additional impacts of stocks of concern for tribal fishery use.

The real question is this strategy of limiting fishing for game fish (at least during the summer period) to only those periods when there are harvestable salmon available the new management paradigm? If so is that paradigm going to be limited to north Puget Sound, all of Puget Sound or expanded to the rest of the State's anadromous waters? Experience shows that when new management door is opened a crack the door rarely shuts again and typically is pushed open further.

Call me concern and disappointed. WDFW seems to send a clear message that if I'm interested in fishing for species like sea-run cutthroat and similar fisheries I best play to take my recreational dollars elsewhere.

curt