are the midwater trawlers which are decimating the herring and menhaden populations. Ask any commercial groundfisheman or tuna guy and they will point to that as a the primary reason why times are tough offshore.
With what these trawlers get paid for their herring, next to nothing, they need to catch a bazillion pounds to make any money off of them.
Here's an interesting link to Captain Bruce Peter's website. Bruce is a top charter skipper in Chatham, MA and I am sure at least some of you know him better than I. He knows his stuff and his website is very interesting. Here's are some of his thoughts on the trawlers and the bycatch problem:
http://www.sportfishingcapecod.com/r...m?ReportID=192
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