Hi Michael,
Amen. I can remember commercial fishermen telling me that they would cut
their nets to get rid off a net full of dogfish. They then had to spend a
great deal of time sewing the nets back up before they could fish again.
I was shocked a few years ago in P-town as watch draggers unload box after
box of dogfish!
Its amazing how much of an effect a few individuals exploiting nature can
have on the environment. A couple of cases in point:
Blue Mussels in Plymouth/Kingston/Duxbury Harbors
Winter flounder in the same area
There were not a lot of commercial fishermen harvesting those species,
but within a few years the population was decimated.