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https://vimeo.com/195539519

Good approach! But why can't they just sort at Bonneville? Install a trap on the ladder and have at it. It's the same principle and is already set up for it. Looks like that piling corral could be just below one of my Summer Steel spots above Cathlamet. Sure hope not! Have not been there yet w/ the closure on to check it out.

There would probably be a lot of laws preventing giving fish away for commercial purposes. Guess BPA could become a commercial fisherman and sell them.

Unfortunately, the goal in state and tribal commercial fisheries is for the individual to catch the fish, not for the appropriate number to be safely taken. Hence, the net fisheries on Baker sockeye with incidental take of steelhead and Springers.

Fish wheels accomplished the same thing, but they were outlawed by the people in 1934. https://ballotpedia.org/Washington_Fish_Traps_and_Fishing_Regulations,_Initiative_77_(1934)

The sport fishermen were among the strongest supporters of Initiative 77: http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=2453 (see especially Section VI: The Political Economy of Initiative No. 77).

Traps (a fish wheel is a type of trap, so is this pound net thingy) were outlawed because they were efficient in catching fish, i.e. more fish caught per person working the gear. The less efficient gear groups (and this at the time included both gillnetters and sport fishermen, yes, gillnetters were your former allies, folks) did not like this, especially during the Depression when people needed work or at least something to do. However, what people failed to recognize is that traps are also efficient in terms of regulation, i.e. the number of fish and which types of fish can be retained can be easily controlled, and unwanted harvest can be safely returned. It is so sad that WFC and so many others fail to acknowledge that there was very good management historically until it was messed up by politics, such as Initiative 77.

Yet, we still allowed Reef Nets, which are reasonable traps. Traps and fish wheels would be a great but would concentrate fishing in the hands of a very few. How would we assign traps?

One way would be ITQs, i.e individual transferable quotas, allocating a percent share in the harvestable amount to the holder. This gives the owner of the ITQ an incentive to harvest as efficiently as possible. It also gives the ITQ holders, collectively, an incentive to maintain the resource in a robust condition. ITQs don't work too well for sport fisheries, but a good similar model for sport fisheries is the Scottish one where the right to harvest in a section of river is privately owned. Of course, people pay up to 1000 pounds a day for the privilege of fishing the good salmon rivers with a ghillie, but, I guess that proves the point that many make here that sport fisheries are valuable.

Looks like it's above one of my summer run spots out of Cathlamet. Boooo.
Good luck,

SZ