A fishing-permit buyback program has had an as-yet-undetermined effect on the health of California’s fisheries.

This month, Congress announced it would work to reduce the financial strain on commercial fishermen who participated in a federal buyback of permits and fishing boats, mostly draggers, in California back in 2003. There’s a bill in the House to refinance a buyback loan at a lower rate than the 5 percent set by the feds when the buyback was enacted. It’s welcome news for commercial fishermen—but what good did the original buyback do, if any? Read the rest here 08:47

2 Responses to A fishing-permit buyback program has had an as-yet-undetermined effect on the health of California’s fisheries.

  1. Bill Diller says:

    Shocking! tThe government interferes with capitalism and it goes to hell. Who’d a thought. The Federal government created the problem in the first place with their push to develop ground fish fisheries in the late ’70’s and early ’80’s. with CCF’s and Loan Obligation Guarantee programs. Then they tried to cure it with another government program which is also a failure. Now their new program of Catch Shares is also a disaster. Will they ever learn? Short answer is , no.

  2. StripedBassHole says:

    I watched it happened here in the Northeast Fishery after the initial 1976 Magnuson Fishery Act. Our Near and Off-Shore Stocks had been raped and pillaged by the Foreign Fleets. Then the Commerce Department provide Capital to build up the Fleet. They should’ve let Nature take it’s course and the Fleet would’ve grown with the Stock. Government has a habit of sticking their Nose into affairs they have little KNOWLEDGE of. COMMON SENSE is not very COMMON and the only CONSTANT in life is CHANGE. Of course death and TAXES too…

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