[Billfish715]

This quota and size limit system is supposed to be about conservation, I think. Recreational fishermen are able to practice catch and release while commercial netters are not. After being dragged around in the cod portion of an otter trawl, very few fish are going to survive and be returned to the sea. Even though the mesh sizes were increased to help smaller fish escape through the net, once the cod end starts filling with fish, even the small fish don't make it out. The other side of the argument is that many of the recreationally caught fluke don't survive either due to improper handling or hook removal.

We all have opinions about the condition of the fluke fishery and of its future. I've been fishing for fluke for over sixty years and there has never been a time when there were no fluke to be caught. That includes the many years when there were no regulations. I agree that there should be some form of monitoring of the fishery and that there should be education about the importance of conservation. Fishing alone will not destroy the fluke population. My opinion is that it would take something cataclysmic to destroy the fluke fishery like disease or destruction of breeding grounds, habitat, or forage. But again, that's just my opinion.

Recreational and Commercial fishermen have the same interest. No one wants to see the fluke stock disappear and jealousy among fishing groups is not an answer to our problem. An equal share in the harvest should be our goal. Unity within the ranks of both the commercial and recreational groups will go a long way to reach that goal. There are plenty of fluke to go around.

My suggestions about the commercial industry were based on some observations. By dropping their quotas, fewer fish would be harvested and therefore the price of the fish would be increased by supply and demand. The fewer fish for sale means that both the wholesale and retail prices increase. By flooding the market with more fish, the prices will decrease. The economic value of the fish will dictate how the conservation of the fishery will or will not work.

It's a controversial issue for sure, but it is not all doom and gloom as some will have us think. Being controlled and seemingly ignored by the government agencies has been everyone's complaint. It's time for everyone to get on the same page and put our fears and goals on the table and come to a consensus.