Catch shares have become integral to the success and sustainability of many fisheries across the country, but today their future is unclear. A ban on catch shares is now being decided behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, without any public debate or vote. This is a desperate move in response to the House and Senate rejecting the ban their spending bills.
Nineteen members of Congress have written to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the House Appropriations Committee and the Commerce subcommittee asking to ban further funding for this innovative tool in the Atlantic, effectively eliminating an important option available to fishermen and fisheries managers.
The ban would be added into an appropriations “minibus” package that the House Appropriations Committee and the Commerce subcommittee are currently working on. This is the last opportunity to get this measure into appropriations legislation this year. This measure would block work on, and implementation of, any new catch shares programs even where local fishermen and others are eager to adopt them. Read More