I’m kind of surprised the state even plants hatchery chinook anymore.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti hatchery.
I always thought one of the main reasons for planting hatchery fish was they were intended for harvest.
I understand ESA, treaty rights, ocean take outside the sound, orcas etc but is the goal of planting fish to get excess returns back to the hatchery? I’m specifically referring to Puget Sound and Hood Canal.
Last year had a quota in MA 9 of 4,700 hatchery chinook. Some quick math on some hatchery returns of fish that would have swam through MA 9 on their return journey to be 72,000 fish.
So yeah, let’s increase hatchery production of fish we pay for but can only harvest in a very limited fisheries…..was it 9 days of fishing this chinook fishing in MA 9 this year?
SF