by x » Tue May 30, 2006 4:48 pm
Banning drift netting will put an end to damage to stocks in a mixed fishery context - ie now any salmon caught will be caught in the estuary of whatever river they're returning to. No doubt the snap and draft net fishermen will be laughing all the way to the bank, as will the poachers - if there is a difference. The only real difference now is who actually catches salmon for profit. The way the drift netters see it is that now they'll be denied to the benefit of the snap and draft net fishermen. In reality, the same number of salmon will be 'harvested' either way.
So is this really progress? Is it fair?
My view is that we have a small number of 'sport' species in our waters. Salmon, sea trout, mullet, tope, bass. Skate, maybe. Definitions vary. But how many of these have real, actual protection, much less legislative protection?
The answer to that question is equivalent to how much our government respects anglers.