Quit job for $100k plus? This fisherman said no

[theking]

Would you quit your job for $110,000? This California swordfish catcher said no

At age 75, Gary Burke, the tall, easy-mannered fisherman with a replaced knee and rough, callused hands is not as sure-footed as he once was. “In a couple more years, I won’t have the strength to climb into my own boat,” he said.

...“They’re putting a good fishery out of business for no good reason,” he said. “Most of the nation’s swordfish is imported, even though scientists say swordfish stock off California is healthy.

“That doesn’t make sense to me, and it isn’t right,” he said, shaking his head and gazing out at the harbor promenade.

That kind of talk is not the only reason that Burke has become something of a local hero on the waterfront. He is the lead plaintiff in an ongoing lawsuit challenging a California program to phase out swordfish gill netting by 2024.

In a separate case earlier this year, a federal court judge cast his line in favor of three California swordfish netters led by Burke and struck down a new federal rule that will shut down their fishery if it accidentally kills or injures too many marine mammals or turtles. With plenty of protections already on the books, the judge said, the rule would “threaten the economic viability of the drift gill net fishery while providing minor environmental benefits.”

It was a rare win for what was once one of the major commercial fisheries in California. In the 1980s, the fleet landed more than 7 million pounds of swordfish worth close to $13 million annually, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Since then, landings have declined to less than 1 million pounds worth about $2.5 million.

Now, a state buy-back program is offering $110,000 to each swordfish netter who quits the business. Burke said he turned down the offer.