Well, the Indians were using gillnets before the Europeans arrived. The Europeans were using them, too. It is probably a rather ancient technology.

The non-Indian fishery is managed by the State of Washington through WDFW (at least in theory, many here believe otherwise). The citizens of the State, through the Legislature or Initiative, could ban their use by that segment.

Tribal fisheries are managed by each individual tribe. They are not subject the State law regarding fishing.

One difference in gillnets is that, in the fast, the NI nets could not be monofilament; they had to be multi-stranded which made them somewhat more visible. Indian nets had no such restriction.

The most destructive fisheries to the long term survival of Pacific salmon and steelhead are the marine mixed stock, primarily hook and line.