Lets take a look at history on Hawaii’s bottomfish. In the 1950s and 60s fishermen caught twice as much bottomfish per boat compared to today. This is to be expected when a population decline occurs.

What most fail to recognize are the technological advancements that make today’s fishermen efficient fishing machines that should be capable of quadrupling or better the catches of the 50s and 60s. So why are today’s fishermen catching half of what was caught with primitive gear?

It will be nice to see some expensive video of isolated areas of abundance that US fisheries managers will use to justify the status quo. No offense towards Americans, but it’s no secret that money drives resource management decisions wherever the United States has control.