Hook and Line Permits

[CaptTB]

Originally Posted by Life's A Beach

Everyone has to earn a living. It would be nice if the recreational fisherman wasn't always getting the short end of the stick though.

If the season is open within state waters for pin hookers, then it should be open for recreational fishermen also. and if said commercial fishermen are in state waters then they should have to abide by the same size limit as the recreational guys.

Why? They are not recreational fishermen. The fish they catch do not come from the recreational quota. These are commercial hook and line fishermen. It has nothing to do with you, with recreational fish or recreational fishermen. They have their own quota (commercial) that they fish on, same as a potter, same as a dragger.

Should the draggers only be allowed to fish when you can? Most hook and line permits have a limit to the number of pullers, but that is irrelevant.

Whether there are 2 or 10, it is no different than how many people work on a dragger. The fish are not going home in your cooler, they are being sold like every other commercially caught fish. The boat has both a limit to how many people can fish and it has a trip limit, just like a dragger.

Why are we even talking about LEGAL commercial fluke fishing in this forum? Why even start a post about a legal form of commercial fishing that is less destructive to the environment and fish than any other form of commercial fishing and that has existed since the dawn of time. Commercial hook and line permits have existed for decades. They have a quota, we have a quota. They can fish when their quota is available. Their quota is broken up into 4 parts and 4 time periods. At any point the quota for a given period is caught, they are shut down and cannot begin fishing again till the next time period opens.

Why wasn't anyone pissing and moaning when the commercial boats were catching fluke in January and February?