Originally Posted By: Salmo g.
In two weeks there will be an Acting Director at WDFW. With little to lose, it would be an opportune time for the AD to review a bullet point summary of PS Chinook stocks ER by fishery. If my cursory review is correct, most harvest pressure happens north of WA state. Perfect timing for the WDFW AD to advise NMFS that since the ESA is federal law, since the PST is federal, and since inter-state matters of ESA are federal (i.e. AK, the rogue nation), when NMFS gets Dept. of State to obtain cuts in WA Chinook exploitation from AK and CA, then come back and talk to WA. Meanwhile WA will continue to steer the conservative course it has in recent years. Time to fish or cut bait. Well, maybe that's a poor phrase. Call the bluff. It can't get any worse. Oh, and if NMFS pulls the federal LE trigger (different than threatening), then WA cuts all hatchery Chinook production immediately on that day. Cuz if it gets that bad, WA license buyers and taxpayers should stop funding the bleeding. It's just business at that point.


You left out that the MMPA falls under NOAA. Furthermore, I haven't read anything even suggesting that the ESA listed Orcas don't treat wild and hatchery Chinook exactly the same. And if they are starving now the public needs to connect the dots as to the potential impact of additional hatchery closures (as I recall WA chinook production has been reduced 60+% since the mid-80s).

Anyway, the Nuclear Option is an interesting thought.
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