MSBA Call to Action-Save South Cape Fishing

[Back Beach]

Maybe I'm slightly aloof, but it looks like a fairly non threatening issue here. They are allowing the fleet to fish an extra seven or eight days in one locale. The total landing quota, which is a coast wide quota, hasn’t changed. There is no guarantee of there being any more or less squid in the sound during the time period in question. Actually, it’s the end of the run for the most part. Check the commercial landings on DMF, and you will see that the mass landings are only a fraction of RI landings. Mass has landed about 1/8 of the RI landings year to date. Can't say the ratio will be the same at season's end, but it seems like a moot point to bitch over a week's additional fishing in one locale if there is a coast wide quota in place. The real issue is the sustainability of the coast wide number, for which I can't produce an informed argument for or against.I would direct my aggression there if the data suggested a problem with the stock numbers.Bycatch is always bad, regardless of where or when. However, it is tough to make an argument that the bycatch will go way over the normal "allowances" on account of this extension.