My comment about putting another nail in the coffin with regulations reducing season length and harvest regarding rock fish and the like on the coast, the interpretation is when thrown on the stack of the other fisheries with restrictions, the aggregate contributes to the decline of the recreational industry. Where disappearance of the mom and pop tackle shops and possibly the poor results of nonresident participation just mirrors the health of our state fisheries in disrepair.

To answer your question there is already a good size bottom fishing niche fishery in the ocean by the Westport charter boats to compliment their salmon fishing income. Good thing for them since Westport looks like a ghost town in the summer compared to when I use to fish there as a teen. There is no reason to believe that there will not be more restrictions coming in the future to affect their bottom line because that is just how it works--- step by step taking dollar by dollar methodically away.

The last time I read about the world fish biomass I believe 66% of the biomass disappeared in the last 100 years with most of it (54%) disappearing in the past 40 year alone.

The common thread between the precipitous drop in the world fish biomass and anadromous salmon stocks is we ate them and we will continue to feed the world with salmon until it isn’t practical.

Of course, what practical means could be debatable considering over 20 years ago a 1995 report published by Carl Safina was noted, that the annual costs for the fishing industry worldwide to catch $70 billion worth of fish were $124 billion.

The red ink filled in by government subsidies.