Gene law is a fisherman in Newport, Oregon. He grew up in Half Moon Bay, California, and moved to Newport in 1980. He started fishing in high school with a friend, and bought his first boat, a 30 footer, after he graduated high school. He mainly fishes for Dungeness crab, but has also fished for tuna, salmon, shrimp, box crabs, sardines, and herring. His wife is very involved in his job as well, and they have four children. His son Matthew has his PhD in Chemical Engineering, and his younger son runs their 83-foot boat. His daughter wants to be an English teacher, and the younger daughter is still in high school.

Gene talks about how when he started fishing there was no limited entry and no restrictions; if you wanted to fish for a certain stock, you simply bought a permit and went fishing. He discusses how fishermen fish where the money is, as they are very opportunistic. Gene speaks about how most fishermen want a sustainable fishery, but he believes soon enough there will be too many regulations to fish. He refers to people from Oceana, Green Peace, and other Environmentalists as “greenies,” and talks about how they tell partial truths. He would like to see less regulation and better science. He also talks about how his son was benefited by the fact that he could join the family fishing business, because if he tried to start from the bottom, the expenses of boats and permits would make it almost impossible for him to get in. He says that the age of owners and crew has been increasing, but that has a lot to do with the governmental involvement. He thinks the pendulum is as far to one side as it can go, and it has to swing back soon enough.