Here is a link to the belated report on the results of the 2016 season:
http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/meetings/2017/08/aug0417_18_presentation.pdf.

The first thing to note is that contrary to the assertion in the NWIFC's article the recreational harvest has not exceeded the NT commercial harvest in any of the years reported and I will go out on a limb and say it has NEVER exceeded the NT commercial harvest. Sorry NWIFC, the stats prove you wrong!

Now, in 2015 there were 25 WDFW LE patrol days which yielded 1,099 recovered pots and 187 which were disabled and tagged. In 2016 there were 21 patrol days and 535 pots recovered and only 23 disabled and tagged. Not too hard to spin that data to conclude that recreational crabbers did a far better job in 2016.

It also needs to be pointed out that not all recovered pots are recreational pots; see the picture on page 31. Deputy Chief Cenci's article in the current (Aug 2017) Reel News indicated that out of 518 pots recovered so far in 2017 sweeps the identifiable recreational pots accounted for 306.