You sell yourself far short on these matters. I wish more guys would at least open their eyes and form their own opinions on the matter, rather than the current spoon fed ways.
You take it one step further, and even offer a viable(more so than you could ever imagine) solution in the return to a rod and reel fishery. I would say that handgear in itself would be a better all around solution, to allow certain species to be obtained by small, responsible types of nets and hand lines, as well as offbeat harvest practices like sperfishing and diving for shellfish.
What ever happened to the American tradition of making commercial fishing a romantic, honored, and respected pursuit???
It would be all to easy for me to only fight for the causes that would help my career path out, and gamefish status on alot of species sure would make my job easier, much more profitable, and far more viable as a long term option.......but I pride myself on being as much a steward of the sea as I can, and view all isues brought about by the current plight on a unique, individual approach. Too many guys take the easy road, or the simplest, least painful approach.......I been known to go in the corner, and hit myself in the nuts for a few times just for chits and giggles
I also find that when I do not just blindly support efforts, I form a more well rounded opinion, leave myself open to change of mind, and learn alot more.
You approach and thoughts on the revival of the artisan approach are so advanced and forward thinking its nuts...... Retro is a great word
