Author Archives: Kate Bonzon

Marine Resources Economics Grants Award to Authors of Study on Bering Sea Crab Fishery Catch Shares

By | Bio | Published: August 29, 2012

 

Seabrooke-Discovery

The Seabrooke. Photo credit: Discovery Channel

Marine Resource Economics announced Joshua K. Abbott Brian Garber-Yonts, and James E. Wilen as recipients of the 2010 Dr. S.-Y. Hong Award for Outstanding Article. The peer-reviewed article, Employment and Remuneration Effects of IFQs in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Crab Fisheries found that the majority of working crews in the Bering Sea red king crab and snow crab fisheries benefited in the first three years of catch share implementation.

Abbott, an Assistant Professor of Environmental and Resource Economics in Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability, wrote an EDFish blog post on the study in 2010. According to the study, crab fishing in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands became more productive following catch share implementation. Crab fishing also became more lucrative for crews – seasons lengthened, employment in crew hours and daily crew pay remained stable, and seasonal crew pay increased substantially. Read More »

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New Study Evaluates 15 Fisheries in the U.S. and British Columbia Before and After Catch Shares

By | Bio | Published: January 13, 2012

Can a Change in Management Solve the World’s Most Pressing Marine Conservation Challenge and Foster Vibrant Coastal Communities? A new study published in the journal Marine Policy finds that reforming how fisheries are managed can successfully restore and maintain healthy fish populations and benefit both fishermen and fishing-dependent communities.  The study evaluated 15 fisheries in the U.S. and British Columbia before and after adopting "catch shares” — a type of fishery management increasingly common worldwide.

Catch shares, the study found, delivers “clear gains in environmental performance (and) major economic improvements” as well as dramatic improvements in safety for fishermen.  The improvements were found across a range of fisheries in the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico and extended to fishermen from both small and large vessels, using a diversity of gears and targeting a variety of fish.  In contrast, the study found that these same fisheries performed poorly under traditional fishery management in virtually all areas.

Overall, the study is a dose of good news at a time when most news we hear about oceans is bad.  The results also come at a time when some in Congress are pushing to eliminate fishermen’s ability to pursue catch shares for their fisheries.  The findings point to a clear choice about which strategy the nation should pursue to achieve abundant oceans that also allow fishermen and fishing-dependent communities to prosper. Read More »

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Catch Share Conversations: Comparing Monitoring Systems in U.S. Catch Share Fisheries

By | Bio | Published: May 13, 2011

In closing this round of Catch Share Conversations on monitoring, which we started last week, we compare and contrast monitoring systems in a number of US catch share fisheries.  Each of these fisheries have uniquely tailored monitoring approaches to accommodate the fishery’s goals and characteristics.  The attached chart provides a snapshot of the monitoring programs employed by catch share fisheries in the United States and provides an opportunity to compare and contrast across different fisheries.

For example, the utilization of monitoring options to meet the management demands of these fisheries yields creative monitoring solutions from the cage-tagging system used by the surf clam/ocean quahog fishery to the multipart dockside and at-sea observer program applied by the Northeast Multispecies Sector Program.  The chart also includes comparative information such as average vessel length, number of participating vessels, gear type, programs costs, funding sources and more.

Posted in Catch Share Conversations, Catch Shares | Comments closed

Catch Share Conversations: Monitoring Systems Case Studies

By | Bio | Published: May 5, 2011
Teal basket full of red snapper

Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper

Throughout this week in our Catch Share Conversations series, we have explored the importance of monitoring, and discussed best practices of monitoring systems. Today, we present two case studies—British Columbia Groundfish and Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish– that highlight the diversity of fisheries and accompanying monitoring systems.  These distinctly different examples show how monitoring systems reflect the unique goals and characteristics of a fishery and how two different fisheries design monitoring programs to meet their needs. 

The British Columbia Groundfish fishery is a multispecies fishery with a fleet that employs a wide range of gear types. It employs one of the most sophisticated monitoring systems in the world, including hail in/hail out, 100 percent dockside coverage, 100 percent at-sea monitoring, including observers for trawl vessels, and electronic video monitoring for hook & line and trap vessels.

The Gulf of Mexico Reef fish fishery is a multispecies fishery. The fishery uses logbooks, partial at-sea monitoring, dockside coverage, electronic reporting, VMS and hail in/hail out monitoring techniques to reach program goals. 

Read the complete fact sheets for more details on the British Columbia Groundfish and Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish monitoring systems.

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Guiding Principles for Development of Effective Monitoring Programs

By | Bio | Published: May 3, 2011

The Guiding Principles for Development of Effective Monitoring Programs, summarized in our Catch Share Conversations fact sheet, is the result of two workshops convened by MRAG Americas and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in 2010.  The Guiding principles summarize lessons from around the world and are intended to provide fishery managers and stakeholders with guidance on the planning, design, implementation and improvement of monitoring programs.  The Guiding Principles should be a point of departure, and recognize the individuality of each fishery.  They draw upon the expertise of over two dozen national and international monitoring experts, including national and international government employees, fishing industry representatives, and monitoring company employees.  By outlining key components to consider and providing concise recommendations, the Guiding Principles can expedite and improve the design of monitoring programs. Read the entire document here.

Monitoring Principles

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Catch Share Conversations: Catch Shares and Monitoring Ensure Effective Management

By | Bio | Published: May 2, 2011

Monitoring is an essential component of effective and successful fisheries management. Reliable monitoring and reporting can support and improve the management of a fishery by providing verifiable information on fishing activities and assessing the performance and success of fisheries management plans.  Developing an effective monitoring program can be complex and many programs evolve over time. 

Catch share fisheries tend to have robust monitoring programs and the transition to catch share management offers the opportunity to design an effective monitoring system. In the collection of Catch Share Conversations being presented this week on EDFish, we summarize common monitoring approaches, discuss how monitoring systems provide incentives for participants, offer case studies of existing monitoring programs, and present Guiding Principles for the development and implementation of a monitoring system.

Read our full fact sheet on how catch shares and monitoring ensure effective fisheries management.

Monitoring Data Collection Techniques Chart

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National Panel Releases Recommendations on Communities and Catch Share Policy

By | Bio | Published: March 15, 2011
Community Dimensions of Fisheries Catch Share Programs

Community Dimensions of Fisheries Catch Share Programs

A national panel on “the Community Dimensions of Fisheries Catch Share Programs” released its recommendations today.  The Panel, convened by Ecotrust, found that options for improving communities and fisheries explode under catch shares, but they don’t happen on their own and more work and energy are needed to fully exploit the benefits of catch shares.

Overall, the panel’s findings are good news for communities that have suffered under traditional fisheries management.  Its findings highlight how well-designed catch shares benefit our fishing communities by enhancing economic development.  Under catch shares, there is a menu of options that were never before available to fishing communities.

However, like our brains, we are only using a small percentage of catch shares’ potential.   Fishermen and other stakeholders can and should learn from past experiences to better implement catch shares.  There are myriad ways to design catch shares to maximize benefits for communities.  Where these approaches are being used, such as the Cape Cod Fisheries Trust and a community fishing association in Central California, communities are benefiting.  However, many more communities can benefit from these innovative approaches and in some cases, not all community-focused options have been used in the design of catch share programs.

Fishing communities, fishermen and other stakeholders have opportunities under catch shares that were never available under previous management.  We encourage stakeholders to envision their future and design catch shares to achieve their specific goals.  There are myriad options, including many of the recommendations highlighted in the Panel report and the Catch Share Design Manual.

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New Study in the Journal Nature Describes the Effectiveness and promise of Community-Based Fishery Management

By | Bio | Published: January 7, 2011
Kate Bonzon, EDF Director of Design Advisory Services

Kate Bonzon, EDF Director of Design Advisory Services

A new study released this week in the journal Nature describes the effectiveness and promise of community-based fishery management.  Among others, the study highlights a catch share in Chile that has 20,000 participants and covers more than 1,500 square miles “making it one of the most successful abalone* fisheries in the world.”  The kind of catch share that covers this fishery is called a territorial use rights for fishing or TURF, an area-based management program that assigns a specific area to an individual, group or community.

*The Chilean system manages loco, a valuable sea snail, commonly called “false abalone” due to its appearance and taste.

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