Midwater boats have a small-mesh exemption, as do whiting, shrimp and squid boats. There is a very good reason for this that eluded Baker and Pew. If Pew or their minions go to the supermarket and buy two pounds of any of these species loose at the fish counter and ask for a 6-inch mesh bag to take it to the register, they will quickly discover the physical attributes of a small-mesh exemption.
Travesty herring fishery can't get optimum yield
With regard to Peter Baker's letter to the editor Jan. 23, "Herring trawlers don't need higher haddock cap":
If we stayed fishing on Georges last fall, one more large incident could have shut the fishery down, leaving 1A, 1B, 2 and 3 areas unharvested. The midwater fishermen, being responsible for their own livelihood, decided not to fish on Georges and risk a large encounter that could yield the last 15 percent of bycatch, which would cause National Marine Fisheries Service to close down the herring fishery until next May, when a new miniscule quota would be granted.
Considering the millions spent on putting fishermen out of work, it is a shame they couldn't spend a little money educating their own.
Read the complete letter from the South Coast Today.