fishdontbiteforme: Maybe a protest, for all the times we have had our fishing taken away from us by the commercials and tribes. It could even be added to the possible wild steelhead retaintion of tribes and comercials that has been talked about here (see thread at top of list).

Which reminds me, that protest thread used to be quite hot, then it died. I believe that it should go through. Think about it, after spreading the word of a protest through all the forums (and I know there are a lot) and maybe even magazines and newspapers, there could ben hundreds if not a thousand people protesting. That usually gets the eye of the media. And to think, it all started here.

It doesn't matter what the sporties, commercials, or sea lions think about what is up with the run. If WDFW/ODFW think the run is going to be less than forecast, they will shut it down. The commercials are currently near their bycatch allocation based on a 360,000-fish run estimate. Bycatch allocations in terms of # of fish that are allowed to die are based on run size, as best determined by forecast, then by fish going over Bonneville. The fact is that the number of fish that have gone over Bonneville so far this year corresponds closely with the 36,000-fish run of 1999, not the 360,000-fish pre-run forecast. We can whine about water temp all we want, but the available data indicate a run size much smaller than 360,000.

There is also the FACT that a delay in the run means that the marine mammals have longer to decimate the run. 3000 mammals x 3 fish/day x 30 days is 270,000 fish!!!

Given the (understandably) cautious attitude of the fish managers, it makes sense to scale back the run size estimate. Since the commercials have caused bycatch well in excess of 2% of, say, 100,000, the logical thing to do at this point is to halt all fishing targeting these fish. To allow the fishery to continue would be irresponsible, until such time as the run size can more accurately be measured based on additional passage over Bonneville.

Don't get me wrong -- I hate that this is happening, because I was really looking forward to spending 2-3 days on the river with my kids catching big springers. However, I think logic dictates at least a temporary suspension of the fishery until such time as the data show a run size that can support additional bycatch.

Conspiracy theorists will dream up all sorts of nefarious schemes hatched by the commercial special interest groups, I guess. Maybe the huge pre-run forecasts are just a way to allow the commercials to hijack the sport bycatch.

Just remember that when the fish checker asks you if you caught and or realeased anything, even if you released a native IT COUNTS toward amount of fish caught toward quoata and fish mortality!! Remind the guy fishing in the boat next to you. P.S. If a fish checker asks me if I caught anything, I say NOPE, even if I have fish legal limits of legal fish in the box.As far as I am concerned, unless a real Gamewarden asks me, I wont tell, because IT COUNTS!!!

That's lying, and I don't do that. I guess some of that Academy training actually stuck

It is ironic that some of us advocate dishonesty as a means toward reaching our goals, then we get all in a lather about the possibility that the commercial fishers have the audacity to lie about their bycatch

This tactic undermines our credibility as a special interest group -- if the perception is that our wild fish release testimony is bogus, the powers-that-be will simply move on to a different and likely stricter metric. Or, they might even say, "To h__l with it, if we can't get accurate data, there will be no sport fishery."

Neither of those figures is anything close to fact.

The fishery is managed to a quota of impact on the wild fish in the system. That equates to a certain number of wild fish handled, which are assumed to die.

The commericals got a certain portion of the impact, we get the other, the exact numbers escape me at the moment.

During the negotiations earlier this year, it was estimated that the commericals would get about 12,000 fish. They're not close yet, probably around 8500 by my figuring, and then we'll see what they got yesterday.

There is no quota on the fish caught, there is a quota on the impact on the ild fish, and they are not there yet. If the run fools us and is way smaller than prediction, then we have a problem. I don't expect that to happen - there is too much data in the system.

Silver Hilton, you are absolutely correct. I'm happy that you cleared up these "facts". The allowable impact this year is:

Commercials 40-45%
Sports 55-60%

The estimate of the catch is just that - an estimate. It literally depends upon how many wild chinook and wild steelhead are encountered.

It would really suck if the sports season was cut short.

Someone please tell me how the "impact" is determined from commercial fishing? I saw the gillnetters in Cathlamet this past weekend and the recovery boxes sure looked slick but all of them looked unused. And who is going to provide the inflrmation on how many wild fish they "encounter".? The commercials themselves I presume? Well if you think about it do you think they will be honest about that when they are getting $3.50 per # for the springers? If so then I'll give you the email of the tooth fairy......

Someone has started a bad rumor on ifish he shud be shoot.