By Paul Queary – Associated Press
FORKS — This is a fish story, but not about the one that got away. It’s about the fish you catch, and whether you should put them gently back in the river or whack ’em on the head and take ’em home for dinner.
A sudden move by state regulators to ban killing wild steelhead in the rivers of the Olympic Peninsula has touched off a culture war.
Many locals are seething. The mayor is threatening to sue. Area merchants wonder whether fishermen will stay away if they can’t take home a trophy. Indian tribes worry the ban will worsen resentment of their tribal fishing rights.
Wild fish advocates, meanwhile, argue that it’s high time to protect some of the last healthy runs of a species prized by anglers around the world.
The steelhead — a variety of seagoing trout — is one of the world’s most sought-after game fish. Notoriously choosy about which flies or lures they will take, the fish can offer a breathtaking fight once hooked.
“A lot of people put steelhead above all other fish,” said Bob Leland, who manages steelhead for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. “For many people this is their religion.”
But like Northwest salmon, steelhead have been hit hard in recent decades by habitat destruction and overfishing. Wild fish are listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act in much of the region.
In the mid-1950s, sport fishermen took more than 60,000 wild steelhead in Washington. In 2003, that number was 3,554, according to the Wild Steelhead Coalition’s review of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife data.
