I think they should be legal. Some people just can't crank a sheet of plywood off of the bottom of the ocean. Halibut are for meat and although it's fun at first the fun is quickly turned into work and a lot of it. I love to catch and release steelhead and salmon and other species of fish but they are more of a sportfish. If I get a 'but in the boat it stays in the boat unless it is small. I just look at them as a meat fish not a true sport fish. As far as gas pot pullers are concerned, well, when I was 16 I started shrimping on the Hood canal and me and my buddy did it all by hand. Back then it was two pots each and we pulled three times a day shrimping in about 180 feet of water. I really learned to appreciate larger diameter rope back then. I then went out with a motorized puller and quickly thought to myself where is the sport? Then I saw a full pot and said oh there it is!!! I enjoyed the shrimp just as much, they tasted just as good and I was way way less exhausted which made the experience even more enjoyable. Am I older and lazier or older and wiser?? LOL probably a little of both but for sure I'm older