Fishing News
Panel Passes Fishing Restrictions
By Colleen Valles
FOSTER CITY, Calif. (AP) - The federal government approved severe limits to protect several depleted species of fish, but some anglers said they were grateful the changes weren't more restrictive.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to prohibit groundfish fishing in medium depths north of Cape Mendocino, about 200 miles north of San Francisco. South of the cape, groundfish trawling will be prohibited except for doversole, thornyhead and sable fish.
Some fishermen fear the proposed restrictions could endanger their livelihoods and force them to venture farther out to sea. But some said they were relieved that stiffer restrictions which had been considered were not approved.
"Everybody wishes it could be better but it's the more acceptable of the two choices," said Rod Moore, executive director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association.
The panel further voted to require that groundfish caught as bycatch - fish caught as fishermen pursue other species - must be released back into the ocean. It also voted to close recreational fishing for groundfish in waters deeper that 120 feet south of Cape Mendocino.
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