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There was a great program on PBS last night called "empty oceans, empty nets" which explored the issues of fishery management and balancing the needs of humans and the preservation of species.
One of the examples of successful management that they used was the pacific halibut fleet. Years ago - it was managed like the MA striped bass commercial catch. A certain LB limit was set and a season set. On opening day - everyone rushed to catch as much halibut as possible. They worked 24-7 until the quota was reached. The probelem was that nobody really knew exactly when to stop fishing - so there was a lot of catch over the limit.
Now the fleet is goverened by permits - only boats with permits can fish for halibut. The fishermen that they interviewed all preferred the new system to the old. (im sure the guys without permits are pissed - but they weren't interviewed).
This is not meant to start a riot of commercial vs recreational - it's just food for thought and the show was well done .. check it out on PBS if you get a chance.
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