What is the point of a fishery quota if, in the years when you actually reach it, you petition the government to increase it--because there are just so many darn fish, and it would be a shame not to catch them all?

The annual quota for California market squid is so high that usually it's never reached, and therefore the fishery stays open all year. But this is the second boom year in a row, and fishers have actually caught the full 118,000 tonnes. So, time to close the fishery.

Or not.

As reported by Ed Zieralski,

Commercial squid fishermen are enjoying a banner year and have asked the California Fish and Game Commission to take emergency action and increase the quota for market squid. . . . Fishermen believe the state's quota for squid does not take into account boom years such as this one.

Actually, the state's quota only takes boom years into account. It is, in fact, the average of the three highest catch years on record.


So . . . hunh?