Here's an interesting item addressing the manner in which
commercial fishermen in AK have privately agreed to tax each load of
fish a small amount in order to buy out 3 boats in the existing 39
boat fleet.

It's hard to imagine that the AK cod fishery is down to a total of 36
boats, but each boat is now so much more efficient than before that it
isn't meaningful to compare the current fleet to the much larger group
that used less efficient methods.

We are also seeing something like this in the recreational boating
community up here. The state is actively condemning and removing
"derelict" pleasure boats, freeing up dockspace, etc, for active
boaters. That program is financed with a small percentage of our
annual state tab renewal.

Here's the cod-fishing item:

Alaska Cod Fishermen to Reduce Fleet
AP
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Alaska's cod fishermen are cutting the size
of the fleet to boost revenue for the remaining boats.

Operators of freezer longline boats have voted to buy out three
vessels in the fleet, meaning 36 will be left to fish in the Bering
Sea and Aleutian Islands, said Mike Sturtevant of the National Marine
Fisheries Service. The deadline for voting was Friday.

Remaining vessel owners will pay a 1.6 percent tax on the dockside
value of their catches to repay a 30-year, $35 million federal loan
that will finance the buyout.

After the buyout, federal officials estimate, active vessels will net
an average of nearly $303,000 yearly.

Freezer longline boats catch cod with long strings of hooks. Crews
clean and freeze the fish at sea for sale all over the world. The
vessels range from 125 to 200 feet long and carry crews of about 20.

In recent years other Alaska fishing fleets have downsized, most
notably the Bering and Aleutians crab fleet, which executed a $97.4
million buyout of 25 boats in 2004.