Free: Contests & Raffles.
Solely? No, as you stated there are other mitigating factors, but they Tribes are the only ones drift netting the Chum on the Skagit for an egg fishery. I have witnessed this many times. They throw the dead males overboard, strip the females eggs, then throw theater carcass in the river. This may be a past practice now, but it was rampant in years past. Yes, we have an over population of pinnipeds, and open ocean commercial fishing is an issue, but based on their locations, they don't impact Chum or Steelhead as much as Chinook and Sockeye. Again, I agree there is habitat above the blocked area, but IF Salmon and Steelhead ever existed in those locations, it's a moot point. The flow of the river has actually improved due to flow requirements included in the last relicensing effort. The habitat, due to the placement of woody debris and rearing side channels, is as good as it's ever been in the last 50 years. In a large part, the Tribes are behind this effort as well, and I am glad they are working every angle to restore runs, but overfishing in the river has played a large part of the decline. Non-native commercial fishing opportunities are so limited in Puget Sound that it really doesn't factor into the discussion. I am not ignorant of any of these points, as I have spent the last 32 years involved in Salmon and Steelhead every day.
