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I find it sort of sad that in the article above it reports that Our needed two Gill Nets to get his daily limit but set three nets. This "game" has been played for years. Why put more gear in the water then is needed to take your limit? The answer is simple, because on the days when there are no observers you can land more than your limit and sell it or have someone else sell it. As the fleets have become more efficient, and as cutbacks have been enacted, commercial fishermen have continued to "overfish"(also noted in the above article). None of the current failed management plans have succeeded partially because of the constant "games" being played with the regulations. When the government has sponsored buyouts of permits and boats, many, and I mean many commercial fishers just sold their old boat and permit then bought another, never really getting out of a business, which was the purpose of the feds having the buyouts to begin with. It is just sad that the WHOLE system has deteriorated into the mess that it is. I hope some day there is a solution.
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