"Pollock catcher boats and factory trawlers, cod factory longliners and flatfish factory trawlers made a unified appearance before the regulatory body, to the satisfaction of council members who dread having to slice the pie in the absence of an industry agreement."

Whew! Well, that's a relief. I was really, really getting worried that "negotiations" would not prove "fruitful" among those handful of stalwarts who've been given this once-public resource by their handmaidens at the North Pacific Fishery MisManagement Council.

Naysayers will never be satisfied, attempting to point out wholly extraneous issues, like the decline or seals and sea lions, or the lack of ecosystem impact information.

Record catches! Wealth for all! (Permit holders, that is.)

Ecosystems, schmeecosystems. Fishery Management Councils rock! Just ask the North Atlantic cod fishermen.