# NOAA Cites West Coast Trawl Fishery Improvements

*Published:* 2012-08-14
*Author:* Shems Jud

[![](https://blogs.edf.org/edfish/wp-content/blogs.dir/18/files/2012/07/WinonaJMedium1-300x168.jpg "Winona J Docked in Newport, Oregon")](https://blogs.edf.org/edfish/wp-content/blogs.dir/18/files/2012/07/WinonaJMedium1.jpg)Winona J Docked in Newport, OregonNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest regional administrator William Stelle had an op-ed in the Portland Oregonian on Saturday that discussed progress in the West Coast groundfish catch share program during its first year of implementation.

The op-ed, *Managing the Pacific fishery: Catch share system recasts commercial fishing*, discusses how the fishery was managed and carried out prior to 2011. “Fishermen would fish hard, regardless of weather or market conditions, resulting in safety issues and a boom-and-bust supply of fish,” Stelle wrote. “The result: shorter seasons, potentially unsafe conditions, high levels of bycatch and sharply limited marketing opportunities, which depressed prices, profits and wages.”

Under the new program, landings stayed strong; revenues shot up to $54 million for the fleet in 2011, versus an annual average of $38 million over the previous five years; and discards in the non-whiting groundfish fleet plummeted from 17% in 2010 to less than 5% in 2011.

To read the full op-ed click [here. ](http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/08/managing_the_pacific_fishery_c.html)