Umm, why not just implement the "other methods" now? By using new methods right away, catch rates and impact can be assessed starting now for future refinement/enhancement - plus, no more gillnets.

The only "other method" we ought to be spending any time, money, or political capital on is getting non-tribal commercial fishing completely out of the Columbia River altogether...it's archaic, it damages a growing list of ESA listed stocks, it makes no economic sense whatsoever, and it provides no service to the public whatsoever that it can't get without the non-tribal commercials.

Sorry for participating in the hijack, IS...gillnets have actually always been regarded as a very selective way to harvest fish...it's only once the hatchery v. wild issues arose that the definition of "selective" changed, and the new definition of selective renders gillnets pretty non-selective if they're ever being used in mixed-stock (h and w) fisheries...additionally, some of those ESA stocks are like-sized "bycatch", like catching wild steelhead in a sockeye fishery, etc.

Fish on...

Todd

P.S. The industry groups and their mouthpieces will not support ending the commercial fisheries in the Columbia River...they're afraid that the only reason the hatcheries are producing at the levels they are is to support the commercial fisheries.

They might even be right about that, but it clearly delineates who is trying to support actual recovery of ESA stocks, and who doesn't care, so long as they can go fishing.

Maybe some day...it would be an interesting vetting process, to say the least

Fish on...

Todd

Too many skeletons in my closet and way too many willing to talk about it.

I'll talk to management at Bear Madison, The Oasis, and Town Lounge about taking down those pictures of your Chico "exploits".

That would take care of a small portion of my sordid life.