Hits and Misses.

Monterey Herald

September 22, 2017

HIT >> Fishing quotas aren’t the sexiest subject to write about — they’re complicated and rarely elicit much excitement — but Monterey Bay fishermen got some good news on that front last week, which in turn is good news for area consumers. Monterey Bay anglers now will have permanent access to more than $1 million in commercial groundfish fishing quota thanks to a recent acquisition by the Monterey Bay Fish Trust. That will allow local commercial fisherman the ability to fish consistently, to not have to race against one another, trying to catch as many fish as possible before the entire fishery’s quota is reached. Instead, they’re allotted a share, and can fish at their own speed. The nonprofit trust secured the fishing rights from the Nature Conservancy, which purchased quota shares from willing sellers to lease them back to local fisherman who operate more sustainably than many of the super large commercial crews. Local boats say the need even more of the quota to maintain a sustainable economy, but it’s a good start.