NOYB wrote:

???
Can you cite an example? I can't really think what type of infrastructure
might help both commercial and recreational anglers. The artificial reef
programs are not supported by the commercial fishing industry.


Several.

While geneticists have fairly well demonstrated that the programs
cannot be relied upon to sustain the fishery over a long period of
time, the salmon hatcheries in the Pacific NW served as an effective
brake on total depletion of the salmon resource.

Every time a hydro-electric project is built, many millions of dollars
are spent to install fish ladders and other devices by which migrating
fish can continue upstream past the obstruction. When economics,
demographics, etc make a dam redundant or obsolete here in the Pac NW,
we are now beginning to take them down to restore natural stream flow.
A dam in Olympic National Park was removed a few years ago, and where
there were previously very few or no salmon spawining a new and active
run has emerged.

It's easy to sum up the answer with: Anything that enhances the
resource benefits both commercial and recreational fishers.



Meanwhile, the recreational anglers created and now support an entire
billiond-dollar industry...namely tackle shops, boat dealers, marinas, boat
mechanics, etc.

It's a bit extreme to claim that recreational anglers "created and
support" the entire boating industry. Up this way there are fishermen
and there are boaters and the crossover is less than you think. Just
because a guy launches a skiff to go mooch for salmon doesn't really
make him a "boater"- yes he's in a boat, but if you asked him to self
describe his recreational activity he would quickly answer "fishing!".
If the fishing season is closed for 5-6 months, a lot of the fishermen
will never leave the dock. Just because a guy wets a line 2-3 times a
year while cruising around the local islands doesn't really make him a
fisherman, either. If you asked the guy who fishes 2-3 times a year but
takes his boat out 25 times a year to self describe his activity, he'd
certainly be more likely to answer "boating" than "fishing."

And don't forget sailors. Few people do much fishing from a sailboat,
yet they spend $billions each year on gear, repairs, boats, rigging,
etc.


From a social perspective, the most important function of the fisheries
resource is to provide food for people. There's no reason that some of
us (recreational fishermen) can't enjoy the luxury of playing with our
food, but the fish are primarily there to be eaten- not provide a
diversion for folks privileged enough to have the time, boat, and gear
required to go chase after them.

Factionalized squabbling over a diminishing resource will result in
both the recreational and commercial interests losing everything in the
end. The same energy would be better spent enhancing the resource and
making the total pie bigger for everybody. Cutting the amount of fish
that can be caught is a last resort, the more proactive approach would
be improving the quality of the environment so that fish can breed and
survive in greater numbers.