My husbands family are fishermen and I can personally tell you they don't make that much. Their seasons are getting shorter and shorter and the corporations are running the regulars out of business. If you knew what the fisherman get paid per pound compared to what we as consumers pay at the store you would be really surprised. It is a very dangerous, hard job that many do as there is no other type of work in the small towns where many of them come from. Hope this does not offend as it was not intended...Sue
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Sue no offense, just different perspective. I am a life long sport fisherman, I grew up fishing Lake Erie and the waters surrounding Cleveland Ohio, and parts of the Georgian Bay in Ontario.

Walleye were pretty much gone from Lake Erie as I was growing up in the 50`s, 60`s, and early 70`s. Many reasons for it, pollution, lost of habitat due to shoreline activity and development, and commercial fishing. Over harvest, over legal limits and a slap on the hands to repeat offfenders.

Many public debates here over the years, I know the costs involved, the price s paid to the the guys catching the fish vs. the middlemans markup and profit.

Walleye sold here goes for 7 to 10 dollars a pound, caught in Lake Erie but not in Ohio waters because Ohio bought out the commercial fishing licenses for the walleye commercial fishing fleet.

Their standard argument for years had been they were not taking enough walleye to hurt the population, but little or no walleye fishing in Ohio waters of lake erie for many years, except the spring spawning run up western ohio tributaries of lake erie.

With in 3 or 4 years of the commercial fishing ban? Lake Erie was full of walleyes. Hmmm? Many more dollars in revenue generated by resident and non resident fishing licenses, tourist dollars from sportfisherman, the taxes on fishing tackles sales dedicated to the improvement of habitat, access to the waters, and the enjoyment of thousands of anglers fishing for walleye in the area than ever was the benefit from the commercial fisherman taking an American resource for profit!

Not meant to offend, just a completely different view. I am a life long fisherman, for sport and an occasional meal. I quit my membership in B.A.S.S. because I felt they focus too much on fishing for bedding bass(during the spawn). If as they claim they are interested in the health of bass fishing they should be pushing for closed seasons during the spawn instead of focusing on the catches of the brooding stock. A bass taken of it`s bed during the spawn usually means the loss of those eggs. For a weigh in? for prize money? I don`t fish for spawning fish, just a different view of sportsman.