Within the last year, the Supreme Court of the state of Washington has handed down opinions in three cases which have refueled a long-standing but recently dormant controversy over Indian fishing rights. The dispute centers around the proper allocation of the state's anadromous¹ fish resource, composed largely of steel-head trout and several species of salmon. The Indian tribes take the position that pursuant to several treaties signed prior to the admission of the State of Washington into the Union, they possess a right to take fish at all traditional "grounds and stations" that may not be modified by state regulation. The commercial fishing industry, and at times the state, on the other hand, assert that the tribes are entitled to no greater rights than those shared by all other state citizens.

Over the years, this imbroglio hs swirled around a myriad of parties, including the tribes, the fishing industry, private sports fishermen, the state departments of game and fisheries, the United States Department of Justice, and Congress. Recent developments indicate that the issue may be coming to a head and that the principal combatants are now the Washington Supreme Court and the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.²