Posted by John M. on February 12, 2004 at 20:11:43:
In Reply to: Re: Does Sonke know this? posted by stephen clark on February 12, 2004 at 15:23:33:
No, there isn't a new squid management plan every year. In fact, there is no squid management plan at all. They've been talking about one for years, but nothing has yet happened except for a ridiculously high interim seasonal catch limit (equal to the highest catch ever) and a requirement that squid get the weekend off (no commercial catch on the weekend).
Meanwhile, the current alternative backed by the department for seasonal catch limits is 118,000 tons. This season the fishery is on track for a 50,000 ton or less year (season ends 3/31/04), following on about 47,000 tons last season. This is down from the peak years of '95-'02, less two seasons with almost no catch because of the El Nino). Question is, why is the catch down in the past two years? When they ramped the heck out of the catch in '95-'02 did they do real damage to the fishery? Is there some other oceanographic effect going on?
Next question is, not knowing whether catch is so down because perhaps they caught them all, why would the department back a seaonal catch limit more than twice what they've caught in the past two seasons?
So, yes, Stephen, they know it... question is are they going to do anything about it? Market squid is the highest dollar fishery in California... even though the actual dollars are about half a peanut compared to anything else in the California economy.