This is the 5th in a series of very interesting articles that have been in the OBX Voice, written by Russ Lay.

Been kind of surprised no one has mentioned these articles yet...but perhaps the OBX Connection isn't the place for these discussions.

Most of the time I seem to find out about the latest article from a link in the Island Free Press.

Also, thanks to this forum, I've been reading Hatteras Blues: A Story from the Edge of America by Tom Carlson...which is really what got me so interested in this ongoing series of articles about commercial fishing/sport fishing/recreational and the political goings on...as well as the inexact science. Today's article has some good posts/responses. I was especially glad to see Ernie Foster's response.

For those of you who care about this subject, I'm sure you've been keeping up...but if you haven't yet, they are worth while reading.

IMO fisheries mgmt makes the mafia look honest.

Problem is you have a great number of honest hardworking comms, then you have douche bags like omega protein ( google them) that come in and pillage a stock then move on.
They got smarter and now contract out so their boats are not named as often. They also like to fire US workers then pay for visa's for foreign workers to work for less than US employees at the same factory.
At the same time they buy politicians like loosing lottery tickets in VA,MD, and NC

I saw the article. Commercial fishing quotas are in the news a lot up here.

If anyone is looking for a good beach read on commercial fishing, I picked up Hooked: Pirates, Poaching, and the Perfect Fish at a library book sale. It's about Chilean sea bass (Patagonian toothfish). Good read.

Appreciate your responses. Can't help but think of Walter Scott's line "It's not fish you're buying, it's men's lives." In this case it's not only the dangerous and physically challenging work of fishing but the political and "corporational" machinations.

The first time I read this line of Scott's was in Peter Matthiessen's beautifully written book Men's Live's about the disappearing way of life for the fishermen of the South Fork of Long Island.

Were you in CT for the Blizzard of '78? I picked up two books by Michael Tougias on Coast Guard rescues for someone we know that is a rescue swimmer out of Elizabeth City.

"Ten Hours Until Dawn" is about an attempted rescue off Gloucester in the blizzard. Great read.

Also bought him "The Finest Hours," which is going to be a movie early next year.

Going to pick up the rest of his books on the ocean, too.

No, Paul - I was either in college in southeastern Ohio or possibly home in NY state...but remember deep snows.

Thanks for the book listings!