EDITORIAL

Sometimes, it seems, the little guy really can win. And sometimes,

too, when the little guy wins, it’s a victory for all.

Such is the case in the nearly tragic tale of Newport Beach’s dory

fisherman. For 100 years, in the middle of the night, the fishermen have

pushed off from the beach at the Newport Pier in search of fresh catches

that they then sell right beside the base of the pier. It’s one of the

last remaining parts of the city’s tradition of commercial fishing.

And suddenly it was almost no more.

At the beginning of the month, a federal ruling outlawing the pursuit

of rockfish threatened to end the beloved Newport legacy. But in response

to the outcry from the fishermen, the council that recommended the ban

quickly suggested that a portion of the ban be lifted to let the dories

sail on.

By all accounts, the plight of the fish the ban was meant to protect

is not dire in Southern California waters. And the dory fisherman, while

catching enough to keep business alive, are not reeling in numbers that

threaten to deplete local stocks.

It was, in effect, a matter of a net of regulation being tossed far

too wide.

But, thankfully, the federal regulators seem to have understood their

error. And while the storm is not totally passed for the dory fisherman

-- regulations for 2003 are still being worked out -- they are breathing

easier and expecting a summer of good fishing.

And Newport residents, plus others who come from far off to buy fresh

fish on the Balboa Peninsula, can keep up the century-old habit.