Gill Net Fishing Ban

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The Alabama Legislature has given final
passage to a bill that will eventually end all commercial gill net
fishing off the Alabama coast.

The bill by {encode="isonfor101@comcast.net" title="Rep. Jamie Ison"} of Mobile and Sen. Pat Lindsey of
Butler raises the cost of a salt water fishing license by $8 to
finance buying out some of the 120 commercial gill net fishermen
remaining on the coast.

The bill passed the House Thursday, and the Senate then approved
House changes.

A gill net is a flat net suspended vertically in the water with meshes that allow the head of a fish to pass but entangle the gills upon withdrawal.

Dozens of gill net fishermen were in the House gallery when the
bill passed. The bill included a compromise that will allow current
gill net fishermen to continue for the rest of their lives.

Sue Anderson of Bon Secour said she has been gill net fishing
for 35 years and that the bill will mean the end of "the last
frontier" for the few remaining in the business. Commercial gill
net fishing is illegal in most coastal states.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)