Therein lies the problem. Because of selective fisheries, especially some of the rec fisheries, the NI side can access abundant stocks with minimal impacts to weak/ESA stocks. The Tribes, fishing non-selectively, can't. They need more than half of the impacts to harvest their share. So WDFW could propose a schedule that gets them only the fish they are "owed" but forces the Tribes to either fish selectively, take the hatchery surplus at the hatchery, or leave fish on the table.

That, I believe, is the crux of the problem. The non-Indian side "has" to give up impacts. I doubt NOAA wants this to go to court because it would ask which law is supreme, the Treaties or ESA. I don't think they want that can of worms opened.