It will definately slow them down.In my years up there dragging I don't think we ever ran anything that small on a bottom net.We used to go down to around 8 inches on the midwater nets during the summer pollack season but that was because we were not alowed to fish the bottom nets,we just counted on sewing up the net every haul back.The palagic nets are bigger and more fragile.They risk getting caught up on the bottom in the rougher bottoms.That is far from cost effective with the new quotas and rereglations.If they get caught up they risk just a torn net too loosing the net and suitcase{expensive sonar unit}and the cable that goes with it.

It is amazing what an old school norwegian bosan can do with a net though.They will still fish in those zones just hopefully do less damage.I quit because of the outright destruction those boats do.A hard trawl on the bottom is the equivilent of scooping the first foot of life off the botton for 50 foot swath.The crabbers were first to notice the effects up in alska.The sportsmen got to see the effects down in the sound with the disapearing cod stocks after some big brained mammal allowed them to fish the sound.The smaller "catcher boats" actually do more damage because they tend to drab slower.drives the net down harder.
The asians eat fish like we do beef and depend on those boats to feed there peoples.I used to make a living just supplying mcdonalds with fish witches.Because of this you will never see what is right done with those boats but I am happy every time I hear of new tougher regulations on the trawl industry.