EDFish

Selected tag(s): Catch Shares

SeafoodNews.com Highlights Cooperation Among Industry Groups Preparing for the Switch to Catch Shares in Pacific Trawl Fishery

By / Bio / Published: October 26, 2010
Tom Lalley, EDF Oceans Marketing & Communications Director

Tom Lalley, EDF Oceans Marketing & Communications Director

An article on SeafoodNews.com highlights cooperation among industry groups to prepare for a switch to catch shares in the West Coast trawl fishery next year.  Fishermen, federal government officials, environmentalists, fishery management experts and on-board observer companies – among others – are collaborating to make the transition a success.

Fishing organizations and EDF recently facilitated a workshop in Santa Rosa, CA to share information and tips on a number of topics, like financing and trading quota, fishery mapping and “hotspot management,” cooperative risk pools, increasing revenues, and reducing bycatch. Videos from that event are now available at www.westcoasttrawlers.net. The West Coast Trawlers’ Network is an informal association comprised of the Fisherman’s Marketing Association, Midwater Trawler’s Cooperative, Oregon Trawl Commission, Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative and United Catcher Boats.

Full article from SeafoodNews.com posted with permission from John Sackton.

West Coast commercial fishing groups make concerted effort to get ahead of catch share transition

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS by John Sackton – Oct 25, 2010 – IFQ’s are coming to the West Coast groundfishery in 2011, and a coalition of industry associations have been working together to prepare for the upcoming changes.

The West Coast trawlers network consists of the Coos Bay Trawlers Association, the Fishermen’s Marketing Association, the Midwater Trawling Cooperative, the Oregon Trawl Commission, the Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative, and United Catcher Boats.

Several of these organizations members have had extensive experience with IFQ programs in Alaska, including how these programs allowed vessels to better manage fleet bycatch, and minimize shutdowns.

Recently the group sponsored a major workshop that was attended by representatives of about half the trawl fleet.

According to Scott Coughlin, a coordinator of the workshop, the group has now posted a series of videos and powerpoints from the workshop on their web site http://www.westcoasttrawlers.net/.

The presentations range from gear and bycatch experts to a representative from Dock street brokers, and cover a range of operational questions involving IFQ programs.

‘The videos present an unusual opportunity to hear from a broad range of experts addressing catch share management of the trawl fishery – a timely topic that affects nearly every West Coast fishing community,’ said Coughlin.

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Catch Share Design Manual and Online Design Center Provide Guidance for Fishery Managers and Fishermen

By / Bio / Published: October 19, 2010
Kate Bonzon, EDF Director of Design Services

Kate Bonzon, EDF Director of Design Services

Kate Bonzon leads Catch Share Design Services at EDF and authored the Catch Share Design Manual along with her team, Karly McIlwain, Kent C. Strauss, and Tonya Van Leuvan.

Overfishing is the biggest driver of declining fisheries globally, and conventional fishery management approaches have failed to correct this. Conventional management has led to unsafe derby-style fishing, increasingly shrinking fishing seasons, and low market prices all while fish populations in the ocean continue to decline.

We need a different approach.

Catch share management is a solution to overfishing that keeps fishermen on the water and fishing as fish resources recover. Under catch share management, managers establish a scientifically-set, fishery-wide catch limit; assign portions of the catch, or shares, to individuals or groups of fishermen; and hold them directly accountable to stay within the catch limit.

Increasingly, fishery managers and fishermen are looking to catch shares as a locally-designed solution to failed fisheries management (about 275 programs already exist worldwide in fisheries large and small). Identifying the biological, economic and social goals of a fishery and incorporating design elements to meet these goals is critical to the program’s success for fishermen, fishing communities and the resource. As fishery managers and fishermen go through the design process, they have a flexible array of options from which to choose.

But, understanding what options exist and what process works for catch share design has been a key challenge in program development. 

Now there’s a dynamic new tool and guide to help improve understanding of catch share programs around the world: the Catch Share Design Center.  The Design Center includes several new tools and resources:

  • The Catch Share Design Manual, which is the first-ever comprehensive overview and roadmap through the catch share design process, drawing on hundreds of fisheries in over 30 countries and expertise from over 60 fishery experts from around the world.  The Design Manual is not prescriptive, but rather, poses a series of questions and highlights frequently used approaches from around the world.  It describes a 7-Step process to guide and inform the design of catch shares for commercial fisheries, including four in-depth case studies of fisheries that have implemented catch shares. The case studies provide comprehensive, real-life examples of the design Steps and decisions in action.
  • The global database of catch share fisheries allows users to explore and understand the design elements and characteristics for 275 catch share programs worldwide. The database is dynamic, being updated regularly, including with information from viewers or other experts.
  • The directory of resources serves as a forum for catch share experts and businesses to connect with fishery managers and fishermen engaged in catch share design and implementation.
  • Go Fish, No Fish is a game-oriented teaching tool that illustrates the differences in conventional fishery management and catch shares.

The Catch Share Design Center seeks to provide cutting-edge information and tools to fishery managers, fishermen and others in order to advance the development and implementation of catch share programs.  We welcome your participation in this endeavor.

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Fishermen Face Uncertainty as Valuable Fishing Seasons Cut Short

By / Published: October 1, 2010

Catch shares could extend seasons, bring back fish  

These vermilion snapper were landed in Murrels Inlet, SC in late August 2010.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is closing two valuable commercial fishing seasons in the Southeast on Oct. 6 and 7: vermilion snapper and black sea bass, respectively. 

With so many restrictions already placed on commercial fishing in recent years, fishermen are forced to compete with other fishermen to catch vermillion snapper and black sea bass as fast as possible before the catch limits are met and seasons closed. For several years, the limits have been met faster and seasons closed earlier. Once the seasons close, there will be few other valuable fish to catch for the rest of the year. 

These closures are not an accident. They’ve been happening consistently throughout the region for several years, due to outdated fishing rules and lower limits of fish to catch.

  • Since 2008, the vermilion snapper commercial fishing season has decreased in length by nearly 50%, allowing just 6 months of fishing this year.
  • Since 2006, the black sea bass commercial fishing season has decreased in length by more than 60%, allowing just under five months of fishing this year.
  • Since 2005, the golden tilefish commercial fishing season has decreased in length by more than 70%, allowing just over 3 months of fishing this year.
  • In 2009, there were no red snapper season restrictions, but this year fishing for red snapper has been banned the entire year.

This trend indicates that continued fishing under outdated rules could result in even more restrictions, causing further economic damage to the fishing industry and the communities it supports. Some fishermen have already gone out of business; those who are still in business often must go out in dangerous weather to fish before seasons close. Local fish can be hard to come by in the region.

There’s a better way to revitalize fish populations and get fishermen back on the water: catch shares.

Catch shares are the best solution for Southeast fisheries. Catch shares have proven results in fisheries around the world, they improve science through enhanced fishery monitoring and they eliminate the need for fishery closures.

Now is the time to move forward with better management: catch shares.

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NOAA Official Addresses West Coast Fishermen

By / Published: September 30, 2010

The regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, Will Stelle spoke to west coast groundfish trawl fishermen at a workshop co-sponsored by EDF. Stelle spoke about the transition on January 1st to a new catch share program that aims to stem the decline of this fishery.   He acknowledged that fishermen will have to change their business models to succeed but noted that there is significant support for them including federal appropriations and a new fund to support innovation in catch share fisheries. 

The workshop brought pacific groundfish trawl fishermen together with catch share fishermen and other experts to share their knowledge and help ease the transition to catch shares.  Proceedings of the workshop will soon be available at a new web site – www.westcoasttrawlers.net.

Will Stelle speaks at IFQ Workshop Dinner 09/26/2010 from Environmental Defense Fund on Vimeo.

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Catch Share Workshop for Fishermen Gets Underway in Pacific

By / Bio / Published: September 27, 2010
Welcome to IFQ Workshop - Signage for transition workshop for the Pacific Trawl Groundfish catch share

Signage for transition workshop for the Pacific Trawl Groundfish IFQ catch share program.

More than 150 groundfish trawl fishermen and fishery experts from up and down the west coast have gathered in Santa Rosa, California today to learn how to structure their businesses under a new catch share program that will start Jan. 1st.  Fishermen will hear from other fishermen who have made the transition to catch shares as well as government officials, fishery monitors, business and finance planners, and other fishery experts.  The goal is to give fishermen the tools to thrive under the new system. 

The workshop started this morning with introductory comments from Brian Mose, a trawl fisherman from British Columbia. Mose said that when his fishery – nearly identical to the U.S. groundfish fishery – moved to a catch share, fishermen had no help to figure out the new system.  He described fishermen as “shell shocked.”  But within a few months, fishermen began making changes, and today, the program is a success.  Fishermen are making money and the fish stocks are stable or growing. 

The new Pacific catch share was seven years in the making and should be a turning point for fishermen and the groundfish they harvest.  Just ten years ago, the fishery was declared a disaster.  Landings have plummeted 70 percent in the last two decades, and since 1998 revenues have dropped from $47.3 million to $22.2 million.

Attendees at the Pacific trawl groundfish IFQ transition workshop on September 27, 2010.

Attendees at the Pacific trawl groundfish IFQ transition workshop on September 27, 2010.

Under the new system, fishermen will not be in a rush to fish and deliver their catch. Instead, they will time their trips in accordance with both weather and market forecasts, maximizing their profits while fishing in a safer, more efficient, and sustainable way. The approved plan includes precedent-setting provisions aimed at protecting coastal communities and the environment. There are several features in the plan that makes it stand out as a model for sustainable and adaptive fisheries management. The Council and NOAA have seen to it that fishermen and coastal communities have a real say in how they adopt new practices and adapt to the catch share system.

Stay tuned for more updates from the workshop throughout the week.

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Joint U.S.-Cuba-Mexico shark catch share gaining media interest

By / Published: September 15, 2010

This weekend Reuters wrote a story about two EDF staff members’ recent trip to Cuba. Last week Dan Whittle, Pamela Baker and U.S. scientists visited with Cuban officials to discuss collaboration between the U.S., Cuba and Mexico to better protect the Gulf of Mexico’s struggling shark population. EDF and Mote Marine Laboratory are promoting improved management for sharks, including exploration of catch share management systems increasingly used to meet the conservation and economic objectives in diverse parts of the world.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsNrwo6g5mE

Shark populations have been troubled for years, primarily due to overfishing, in part resulting from China’s high demand for shark fin soup. Sharks are “highly migratory,” meaning they travel throughout the Gulf and beyond, not just in U.S. waters.

For Gulf sharks — and the benefits they provide to local communities — to be sustained over the long-term, a cooperative effort between the three countries that fish in Gulf waters is key. Catch shares can offer advantages over conventional regulations by creating incentives for fishermen to focus on a steady and high quality catch over higher volume, often lower quality harvests. Important political and other challenges exist, but the potential benefits of cooperation make the effort worthwhile.  Management programs should be designed to achieve the conservation, economic and social objectives of the three countries.

Read the full story.

At the end of September, EDF will be participating in a tri-national workshop with U.S., Cuban and Mexican scientists to finalize a long-term marine research and conservation plan for the Gulf of Mexico at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida. Sharks will be discussed as one of six working groups focused on priority resources in the Gulf of Mexico. More information will be posted on EDFish as the event approaches.

Read more about our work in Cuba or about shark populations in the Gulf.

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