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This has been an interesting season. Due to the warm water most of the shore based comms I know have done very poorly.
If the info I got was correct, the majority of the fish brought to market this year were taken far offshore in the EEZ. Funny thing is its illegal to fish there for striped bass.
I think there may be some basis to these claims since some of the comms, who actually depend on fishing to make a living, are proposing that the comm limit be dropped from 40 fish a day to 20 or 25. This is to make it less profitable for the boats that illegally fish the EEZ. Many of the Cod comms, because of the recent restriction squeezes, re-outfitted and are now targetting stripers, at least for the open season.
Another annoyance for the person making his living commercial fishing, is the growing number of casual comms. The guys who are teachers who the summers off or guys who take a months vacation and casually comm fish. These guys aren't doing it for a living, they are just trying to have fun and suppliment the cost of the trip by selling stripers.
Also many of the guys comm fishing off of MA are from NJ, NY, CT, RI and even VT. The difference in cost between the resident licencse and non-resident license is far too small in my opinion.
If I go duck hunting in Maine or some other nearby state I expect to pay 4 or 5 times as much for a license as the residents. Why do out of state comms get MA licenses for around twice the cost of a MA resident comm license.
Just a few points to ponder.
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