Op-Ed

By Irene Martin I have spent a lot of time recently thinking about the rural/urban divide in Washington and Oregon, and how we see that working out with commercial fisheries. Probably the most obvious example of conflict between the two entities lies in a re-allocation from commercial fisheries, largely rural, to recreational fisheries, largely urban. This is particularly obvious with salmon fisheries, but not confined to them alone. In recent years we have seen Puget Sound crab and shrimp go down that same road. I believe that re-allocation of this kind is a result of the push toward increased outdoor recreation that has occurred over the past decade or more. On the surface it seems like a good idea, encouraging urban dwellers to participate in more outdoor recreation, which has hea...