Now or Never Radio, a web-based radio show on the environment, recently interviewed Tim Fitzgerald about catch shares and the currently failing fisheries management system of “days at sea” (see segment titled “To Sea or Not to Sea”). While Tim expounds on the ability of catch shares to end overfishing and improve fishing jobs, Now or Never also interviewed Gary Hall, a gill net fisherman from Block Island, Rhode Island who acknowledges overfishing as a result of conventional fishery management, but he’s skeptical of catch shares. Hall expresses that he and other fishermen want to move from their current frustrations and challenges so that fishermen can become profitable again. The bottom line is that catch shares can achieve just that.
EDFish
60 Fishermen, 23 EDF Staff, 89 Meetings: Lawmakers Hear About Catch Shares
A frenetic week in Washington, D.C. brought Congressional leaders together with fishermen. Early mornings, full days and late nights were the norm as fishermen spread the message that catch shares are important for their future. Funding for the national catch shares program is included in the Fiscal Year 2011 budget.
As fishermen face closures for the fisheries they depend on, they told lawmakers how catch shares avoid closures and allow fishing to continue even as stocks recover. Catch shares avoid the blow dealt by closures to communities and fishing jobs.
Many fishermen also zeroed in on the universal call for better fisheries science. Catch shares give you robust catch accounting and monitoring, whereas conventionally-managed fisheries often have few data with minimal monitoring coverage.
EDF’s Tim Fitzgerald Appears on the Kojo Namdi Show to Talk Bluefin Tuna and Sustainable Sushi
Yesterday, Tim Fitzgerald, EDF’s Senior Oceans Policy Specialist and Marine Scientist who leads our sustainable seafood work, appeared on the Kojo Namdi Show with Casson Trenor to discuss sustainable sushi and ask the question to listeners, “how well do you know your sushi?”
With the recent defeat of a proposed ban by the U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species on the export of the overfished Atlantic bluefin tuna, how to make responsible choices at the sushi bar is a timely discussion. Japan imports approximately 80 percent of the world’s bluefin tuna to satisfy the country’s love of this prized fish for sushi, which can sell for more than $150,000 per fish, so their ardent opposition to the ban was no surprise.
Aside from bluefin tuna, other species of fish used for sushi are also unsustainably sourced. Tim and Casson went on to discuss with Kojo and the audience that while it’s helpful for restaurant owners and consumers to be knowledgeable about the best fish to select, real success in restoring overfished species will occur from industry change and effective fisheries management. Listen to the show.
Fishermen Come to D.C. to Educate Lawmakers About Catch Shares
Approximately 50 fishermen have arrived in Washington, D.C. today to tell members of Congress how important catch shares are to their future. Funding for the national catch shares program is included in the Fiscal Year 2011 budget. The fishermen are in Washington to talk to their Congressional representatives and Senators about how conventional management is increasingly pushing fishermen off the water and how catch shares is a solution that keeps fishermen working – even while fish stocks recover.
Today more than 60 federal stocks are overfished or undergoing overfishing. Thousands of fishing jobs have been lost as fisheries have declined under the current management system. This adverse impact from conventional management continues to increase as many valuable fisheries face huge closures or dwindling seasons, which will have devastating impacts on fishing jobs and coastal communities.
During their visits to Capitol Hill, fishermen will tell lawmakers how catch shares are locally designed to meet economic, social, and conservation goals. Catch shares management is not a one-size-fits-all approach; rather programs are designed to meet the specific needs and goals of each fishery.
New NOAA Report Shows Progress Being Made to Rebuild and Sustain Fisheries and Ocean Ecosystems – Catch Shares Help
In NOAA’s newly released 6th edition of Our Living Oceans: Report on the Status of U.S. Marine Resources, catch shares (referred to as Limited Access Privilege Programs – LAPPs) are raised as one solution to the over-harvesting of fisheries. Citing the successes of established catch share programs, Our Living Oceans reports that the Alaska halibut fishery has seen healthy stocks with near record levels of total catch since the implementation of its catch share program.
Recognizing some challenges of implementing catch shares, the report rightly points out that policies set during the design of a catch share can address those challenges and concerns.
“Additional rules or special programs built into the LAPP either at implementation or after implementation can often mitigate any potential negative impacts.”
Online Radio Show Dives into Catch Shares
Amanda Leland and I were guests on Moir’s Environmental Dialogues the other day. The host, Rob Moir is the president and executive director of the Ocean River Institute. Rob has had an illustrious career as an educator, scientists and environmental activist and wanted to hear from EDF about catch shares. This is an important time for fishing as a new catch shares policy gets underway.