It's not in our American spirit to be so defeatist. A lot of people don't want to give up on something they care so deeply about. Anything can be changed and some things have.

Riley, are you referring to the ocean sport fishery when you speak of our former Director?

Dirk,

You seem well informed, and who knows you may even be right. But literally NOTHING gets done if you sit on the sidelines. Even worse, you're booing the guys who are INVOLVED and TRYING TO WIN.

Dumb.

B

Ocean Sport, Charter, and commercial.

My guess is you are a relative newcomer to the state . It's all been tried . You cannot negotiate successfully from the low ground . The tribes occupy the high ground and the commercials the middle. You might get a vices soon here and there but over time you will see exactly what has happened . The erosion of opportunity one fishery at a time. We have no leverage other than walking away and bankrupting the wdfw. So it's just more doing the same thing and expecting a different result. If I represented the tribes I would simply play the easiest card. I would paint a very emotional picture that a bunch of rich, white guys with expensive boats want to take away the livelyhood of a oppressed group of people. Just like they have for the past 200 years. I would win walking away.
The only thing that has not been tried is to guarantee the tribes and the commercisls the market value of their paper fish each year not to fish. My rough math shows that would cost each recreational fisher $250.

Good luck to you.

Where is the dotted line to sign on?

Seems to me someone who has been around here for a while would have heard multiple time one tribal representative or another saying they could never be paid off to not fish.

The past proposal was to buy them out. You are not paying them to not fish you are buying the fish at market price before they catch them. They are guaranteed market price in perpetuity . The math and the premise are different and only a fool would pass it up.

"You are not paying them to not fish you are buying the fish at market price before they catch them." How is that not fishing? It has been very clearly stated by every treaty tribe that I know of that they consider the act of fishing as tradition and a way of life and being paid the price of the fish not to actually catch the fish is and never will be on the negotiation table,period. Don't take my word for it, call any or all the tribal counsels you can find and ask them their opinion on paying them for fish before they catch them.

All I said was it was not the same as previous proposals . Never said the tribes would go for it. Never said the sporties would support it. It's a different idea is all it is. I know that the commercials would jump on it yesterday.