Found this in the Tribune today:

Commercial Fisherman (Corporate) Welfare

Here's a quote that I have a problem with - it references the theory that with less boats on the water the limits per boat will be higher with less competiton:

You and I both know that they will continue to fish right up to, and beyond I'm sure, the edge of the limit. It's pure and simple corporate greed.

The only bright side to this act of welfare is that with less boats on the water perhaps enforcement of the limits on targeted and bycatch might be easier and more effectively conducted.

More from the same article


As soon as January, regulators are expected to boost catch limits for the remaining boats by as much as 50 percent for Dover sole, thornyheads and sable fish - stocks that live deeper and farther out than the protected rockfish.


"I'm hoping to see those trip limits go up even further," said Brad Pettinger, a commercial fisherman in Brookings and executive administrator of the Oregon Trawl Commission, an industry group.


"As those trip limits go up, you'll have drag boats that can actually make a living," he said.


Pettinger and his brother retired two boats in the buyback. With one remaining boat, they expect to earn more money than they made with three.