Whale on the Wall

[jmac]

I am not sure TP. I believe that if each guy on the boat had an individual commercial license and there were 5 guys then they could each take 5 fish in a day or 25 fish. If 4 were crew members without commercial paper then I believe they could only take a total of 5 fish per day.

No, its five bass per boat during commercial season; as Trapper said, it was changed several years back, to try and nullify poaching/ hoarding fish by draggers,RR's, Charter boats, etc. It is counterproductive with high fuel prices these days....a couple of RR commercial guys could fish 1 boat to cut down fuel expenses.
All endorsement fish (fluke, scup, sea bass, striped bass) quotas are based on boat, not licenses.

Re; gillnets-gillnetters CAN NOT keep or fish for striped bass in RI...that is mandated by the State Legislature, not the marine fisheries council or RIDEM. The gillnetters have been trying for the last several years to get a "piece of the pie" at RMFC mtgs...that is a law that has to be repealed by the Legislature. Up until approx. 1976-78 (no quota limits back then) there were a few gillnetters working off of Deep Hole/ Mary's Bar for bass...a couple of guys worked the Bay for tautog, but there was so much bycatch waste that it was prohibited back then (or during the moratorium)...now most inshore gillnetters fish fluke, scup, sea bass or whatever else swims into their nets...but they can't keep bass to sell....