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storm145Strait of Juan de Fuca. Then they’d come in closer, toward the PugetSound commercial guys, and then finally the Indian. And then they’dgripe about the Indians. They’d say, ‘They’re putting their nets clearacross the river so no salmon are getting up to spawn.’ So that’s whenwe really had to get into it. A legal decision is one thing. They sit upthere in those robes and they say a profound solution. But carrying itout is quite something else again.”In the summer that followed the Boldt Decision, the state of Washingtonslashed the bag limit for sports anglers from three salmon totwo, and prohibited fishing within three miles of the Pacific Coast.Further, it restricted fishing within Puget Sound and the Strait ofJuan de Fuca for commercial anglers and sportsmen. The fishermensought injunctions in state court against the new fishing regulationsand got them. Boldt, however, overruled the state court judge anddeclared six days per week the maximum number of commercialfishing days.For Indians, the landmark decision ended a hundred-year wait fortreaty rights and ushered in a new day. Indian fishermen invested innew boats and gear. They started catching more fish. As the end of1974 approached, state authorities estimated that Indian fishermenwould take some 160,000 salmon, non-Indian 110,000, and the hookand-lineanglers 90,000.“It was kind of a shock to realize we were going to have to sharethis with somebody else,” admits Jon Westerhome, a lifelong gillnetteron the Columbia River who, at the industry’s prime, brought in twoor three tons of fish per season. Even with so much at stake, Westerhomesays eventually many fishermen came around and acceptedthe split. “The Native Americans were deserving,” Westerhome says.“They were here first.”The Boldt Decision leveled the playing field between tribes andgovernment. Boldt held that existing law was unconstitutional whenapplied to treaty fishermen. The decision gave the tribes authority tomanage their own fishery and to hold jurisdiction over Indians