Re: Fluke and Sea Bass Returns
This started out with my reaction (picture) of the posted prices for fluke and seabass at a local, well-respected fish market. The fluke fillets that I saw for sale were from average sized (market sized ) fish in the 14-18 inch range. The current commercial limit for fluke for each trip is 200 pounds. Do the math. Even if the fluke weigh 1lb. that means once they catch 200 fish, they are done. There is no doubt that the smaller fish bring in smaller dollars, so, where do you think they go if there are larger fish in the trawl; especially if the larger fish bring in bigger dollars? Two hundred pounds is still the same, but two hundred pounds of fish that bring in more money per pound is what brings the temptation to discard the smaller fish. I think it's more about the discards that causes the ire of recreational fishermen. Maybe Dakota know more about how the commercial discards (just like the rec's mortality rates) are figured into the commercial quotas. Or are they?
If smaller fluke are fetching $20 per pound at the market, how much will the fillets from a 5 or 6 pound fish bring?
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