BREMERTON — Supporters of a two-year statewide ban on keeping wild steelhead outnumbered opponents three-to-one at Saturday’s meeting of the state Fish and Wildlife Commission, held at the Kitsap Conference Center.
Almost 80 of the 114 people in the audience commented on the moratorium, passed by the commission last February but being reconsidered at the behest of the city of Forks and others.
An additional 500 to 600 written comments were submitted prior to the meeting, according to state officials.
Fish and Wildlife commissioners will vote to either uphold or overturn the ban — or they could reach a compromise — during a Sept. 2 conference call.
The public can only listen to that call — no further comment will be accepted — in the state Department of Natural Resources Building in Olympia, but an announcement will be made shortly afterward.
Sides in disagreement
Until then, it’s clear that both sides agree on one thing — they disagree.
“The hypocrisy of the few who would enhance their fishery at the expense of others is what inspired me to be here,” John McDowell of Edgewood told the nine-member commission, all in attendance on the Bremerton waterfront.
Like many opponents of the ban, McDowell said he doesn’t believe catch-and-release fishing should be allowed if harvest is not.
“We have repeatedly said, if the runs were at risk we would wholeheartedly support a full closure,” Forks Mayor Nedra Reed told the commission.
“There are those in the opposition who have said, among other things, that we want to cut the last tree and catch the last fish.
“Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Spawning goals
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel opened the meeting by recommending that the moratorium be overturned, noting there are a dozen rivers on the Olympic Peninsula where wild steelhead runs continue to meet spawning goals.