The problem with that is that due to our serious shortage of game cops, they don't spend much, if any time patrolling closed waters...I'd rather have us there watching than no one.

Fish on...

Todd

True ,but if anyone sees an individual walking around with fishing gear it gives them a good reason to call a warden when it's closed. I knew of a guy that would claim he was fishing for albacore in Skagit bay when it was closed because the regs had year around albacore open in Puget sound . Anyway there are more important things to be concerned with.

Everyone makes good points, but-
The fact still remains that;
IF there were no nets and C&R there would be plenty of fish making to the spawning beds, then you could make a strong case for Habitat.
BUT;
As long as there are nets in the river, the resource is screwed.
If fact, any commecial fishing from Neah Bay in should be banned, there is plenty of ocean to go mass kill fish.(this was proposed many years ago only to be killed by the commercial interests)
Leave the rivers and Puget Sound alone and let us sporties make C&R mean something!

GBL -
I guess I see the commercial fishing from the other side. If we are going to kill X number of fish in any commercial fishery I much rather see those fish taken in the river. At least then it would be known what stock of fish are being killed. There would be some sort of chance of limiting the take based on the productivity/health of the local stock.

If the kill was limited to the mix stock fisheries of the ocean then ever weak stock is screwed. Just because the take is out of sight doesn't make it cleaner or better for the resource.

Tight lines
Curt

Smalma is spot on. It has been well known for close to 50 years that the ocean mixed stock fisheres, whether commercial troll or sport are biologically the worst thing for the fish as you have no idea what you are catching. And you are catching immature fish before they have maximum age and growth. Remeber the rumors of 100 pound Elwha Chinook? Even with the dams out they won't come back as long as the ocean fisheries are in plcae.

They are also environmentally stupid. Why chase a fish, or any resource, when you know where it is coming back to? There are much better uses for all that fossil fuel than chasing fish in the ocean.

The cleanest fishery is one where you absolutely know the stock composition every day of the fishery. And that is in the rivers and bays.

Good points!