The meeting yesterday included representation from all PS tribes.
The Mucklehsoot and Puyallup tribes came to the table demanding additional concessions from sport fisheries from what was discussed at NOF. Essentially providing 1 of 2 options for the WDFW to accept. I dont have the exact figures on what those proposals were yet. Last week, Puyallup had proposed total closure of sport fishing in the River, and in marine areas 9, 10 and 11, so the WDFW counter-proposal was aimed at the Puyallup proposal.

Prior to the meeting, the WDFW received a letter from the Puyallup which essentially outlined the same proposals that were discussed the week before.
They again demanded that MA 9-10-11 be closed entirely and no sport fishing in the Puyallup river. The department had fisheries models which dropped from NOF positions to a quota of 1112 fish in MA 10, and 2606 in MA 9.


The end deal on the table for Puyallup Chinook was a 65% treaty 35% non treaty impact on those fish. The department attempted to stay at a 60/40 impact, and that proposal was denied. The Puyallup and Muckleshoot rejected the states proposal and the meeting ended with the tribes never offering a proposal or concessions for their own fisheries, the only focus was on sport fishing season reduction.


The sportfishing communities support for the WDFW and director Unsworth should be unwavering. As much as it hurts and creates uncertainties in the near term, This was the right decision by the department. Is time for this negotiation process to get overhauled from top to bottom.

IMO, and others, The real issue here is that NOAA has allowed these negotiations to fail to this point, and allowed this abusive relationship between the tibes and the state to flourish to the point of failure of co-management. This isnt a crash, it has been a slow crumble and the cookie just broke.