For better or for worse, recreational fishing and hunting are managed based on "opportunity". Consistently, users say that their primary reason for going out is to be outdoors, with friends, etc. When surveyed, harvest is always down the list.

The measure that is always used for the value of rec use is cost per trip. "I spent $X to fish salmon today." That is the measure.

Rec use was never designed as subsistence; the taking home of harvest id the cherry on the sundae. Many of the limits, especially gamefish possession limits, were designed to "spread" the harvest over more license holders.

Now, if we want to change that then we need to really get organized and lobby. Perhaps a license comes with a money-back guarantee that you will harvest 10 salmon, 1 halibut, 15 crab, and so on. I think that a lot of folks do look at hunting and fishing as major meat source. This is not the way management has worked and if we want to change that there is a ton of work to do.