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To me when a commercial fisherman say recreational fisherman are the problem and want all of the fish for themselves it is the most disingenuous of statement.
Recreational fisherman really means the general public. Anybody can go out and fish under the recreational regulation. Most commercial fisherman put on their recreational hat when the commercial season isn't open. The recreational fisherman/general public are being grant the right to catch a resource that belongs to the public.
Now in the case of the commercial fisherman they are being given a special privilege above what the general public gets. They can catch more of this public resource and also sell them for a profit.
So to me when the resource numbers decrease the first thing to do is eliminate any of the groups getting a special privilege. Then you go after the general public. I'm not saying the general public should have no limit. Just that when the general public limit drops to a number like two this is telling you there isn't enough of the resource to support commercial fishing.
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