[niko]

a good partyboat and captain will make an effort to make sure the patrons are not poaching. a #^&#^&#^&#^&ty one will turn a blind eye to it. if you are a good boat and mind the rules you will lose some business from the poaching crowd (who wants to fish w/ them anyway) but end up w/ decent regulars and a good rep. the boat i winter codfish on has a mate that goes through all the coolers and checks all the whole fish going home - if they are short/out of season they get tossed over. there will always be fishermen who skirt the rules - eff them and the boats that allow this