Hooton's argument has merit only if the BC wild steelhead release regulations are somehow causing the spawning escapement to not be achieved. Since the affected stock are Skeena summer steelhead, it's possible that very high catch rates along with incidental mortality and high summer water temperatures, recreational fishing is adversely affecting the effective spawning escapement. The human factors having an undeniable impact to the steelhead escapement are the native in river gillnet fishery and the lower Skeena and approach marine waters commercial salmon fisheries. As an equal opportunity critic I want to place blame where it belongs.

Outside of tributary stream closures, it's hard to provide fishing closure sanctuary to winter steelhead in mainstems because they spawn from just upstream of tidal influence to the headwaters.

What about the Steelhead "sanctuary" rivers that were implimented a couple years back? Off limits to hatchery plants and limited seasons, if at all. That was suppose to provide a gene base wild population, in a specific drainage, in case of some kind of population collapse. Those that are not, should be maximized for hatchery production and opportunity. The Grays R. is one. WDFW was suppose to increase plants on the Elochoman to offset that lost opportunity. The bitch I hear, is even though plants have marginally increased, space to fish for them is limted by posted private property. Has created a mess for property owners and fishermen.

That was one of my big issues with the selection of the "gene bank" rivers. I think that going off of practicality and infrastructure, the Elochoman was probably a better choice for keeping a hatchery program on, since the one at the Grays was falling apart. I could practically wade the Grays from the hatchery on the West fork to tidewater in the right conditions, though, so losing that one still really bothers me. How many productive rivers do we have that still have good wadeable bank access with a hatchery run? I know, that's a rhetorical question.

The choosing of the Green over the Coweeman is still a head scratcher, since the Coweeman has no barrier to migration or collection site to my knowledge. We traded a great summer fishery for well, nothing really unless you live on the Coweeman or have friends that let you access it.

I think that, across the wide range of all fisheries is WA, that WDFW favors the boat-based angler. Other than High Lakes, and they they often recommend a pack-raft, the "optimum" method requires a boat. This may have been exacerbated post-merger when salmon (especially boat-based salmon) became the priority and steelhead were a complicating afterthought because of bycatch.