[John H K]

I'm talking about rock cod and such.

I realize this isn't politically correct on FR, where business is always right and enviros ALWAYS wrong, but commercial fishermen wipe out fisheries, unless the government can close it before they can. It's happened, is happening, and will happen, because of the nature of the industry (people don't own plots of ocean, and as a population declines the price for the fish goes up.)

[denydenydeny]

My reading of this story is that the county would be at least stable were it not for unfunded mandates from the state and federal governments. You may read into the story all you want about overfishing and the evil Japanese, but the primary problem, as with almost everything, is government intevention.

[Carry_Okie]

I realize this isn't politically correct on FR, where business is always right and enviros ALWAYS wrong, but commercial fishermen wipe out fisheries, unless the government can close it before they can. It's happened, is happening, and will happen, because of the nature of the industry (people don't own plots of ocean, and as a population declines the price for the fish goes up.)

I suppose you remember that fish hatcheries used to be operated by fishmerman's associations? Stop chugging that swill from Zeke Grader and Glen Spain and wake up! Government abetted this problem by not selling off fishing allotments and kissing up to the Japanese, Korean, and Russian fishing fleets. Those big trawlers have made an absolute mess. Government also starved coastal marine ecosystems of primary nutrients in the name of clean water. Look at coastal intertidal zones and see what it has done. Consider the effects of "public access." Now realize that the reason no one goes out and stakes a claim of private property to the ocean is that it is UNder the control of... who? What you are seeing is the disastrous effects of a socialized commons.