Bob, I will respectfully assert that steelhead have not been de-comercialized. There may not be any non-tribal netting for them, but steelhead are heavily commericialized.

Clearly many people in this state, yourself and CFM included have made and continue to make their living directly off of steelhead both wild and hatchery.

Many tackle shops and guides around the state do this. Seems like a pretty commercial enterprise to me. May not be strictly speaking an extractive commericialization, but it is definitely commmerical and has impacts on steelhead populations.

It is precisely this commericialization that has made the WSR issue so contentious in places like Forks.

I for one would like to see some of the proceeds from this commercialization benefit steelhead. Maybe a 5% tax used directly on steelhead habitat conservation. This would definitely benefit the steelhead business in the long run and genuinely help the fish.


Just my $0.02