EDFish

Selected tag(s): Catch Shares

Catch Shares Improves Both Science and Catches

By Doug Rader / Bio / Published: February 25, 2010

EDF Chief Oceans Scientist, Doug Rader

The track record for catch shares in fishery management is abundantly clear: better science for managers and better access for fishermen. Certainly, “science vs. catch shares” is a false choice – catch shares provides the best chance to achieve high-powered science while getting fishermen back on the water and back to work.
Here’s why.

Science in Fisheries Management

Irrespective of the type of management being used, federal law and regulations require that fishing levels be set to both prevent overfishing and rebuild overfished stocks, based on the best available scientific information. The total fishing mortality for all fishing sectors (commercial, charter boats and private anglers), including both landed and discarded dead fish, cannot by law exceed “overfishing limits” identified by fisheries scientists.

Two kinds of information are used to assess fish stock conditions and set the overfishing limits, fishery-independent data (collected directly by scientists to judge stock conditions), and fishery-dependent data (sampling of fish caught by fishermen, and affected by the fishing mechanism and regulations, typically using catch monitoring or catch accounting methods). Each type provides different, valuable information about what’s out there, and what is caught.

When there are lots of data of both types, and they are collected using robust methods, the uncertainty in the biology is greatly reduced and we have a much better understanding of what’s happening. When data are poor in one or both categories, there is a higher level of biological uncertainty, and less confidence that managers understand what’s really occurring in the fishery.

Under federal regulations, biological uncertainty must be subtracted from the overfishing limits to create lower “allowable biological catches” that cannot be exceeded by managers.

In addition, there is often considerable uncertainty in estimating how a proposed management system will work to achieve allowable biological catches. Management uncertainty (how well management measures like bag limits, size limits, closures, or catch shares perform in actually hitting management targets) must be subtracted from allowable biological catches in setting “annual catch limits” for fisheries or fishing sectors.

Thus, all types of uncertainty must be accounted for. The greater the total uncertainty, the lower the allowable catch levels can be—and the less fish for fishermen to catch, for any given stock condition.

Finally, the levels of fishing allowed for overfished stocks are also set based on how fast those stocks are able and required to rebuild. In nearly every case, the regional fishery management councils have allowed the longest legal rebuilding time, with the lowest allowable probability of actually rebuilding, given the biological uncertainty involved (50% probability, established in the courts and now by regulation), and the highest legal landings, even though that slows down rebuilding. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged Fisheries, science | Comments are closed

Fishermen Express Concerns in Washington Today; Catch Shares Can Help

By Amanda Leland / Bio / Published: February 24, 2010

Amanda Leland, EDF Oceans Program - National Policy Director

Fishermen are here in Washington, D.C. this week to express their concerns with fisheries today—and they have good reason to be frustrated. Even after decades of regulations aimed at restoring fisheries big problems still exist.

Today over 60 federal fish stocks are overfished or have overfishing occurring, resulting in declining catches and shrinking revenues. We must rebuild these fish populations to restore vibrant fishing communities, because economic recovery requires biological recovery. But, the key is picking the path that makes common sense.

Until recently, fishery managers didn’t see a good choice. Controlling overfishing has usually meant shrinking fishing seasons or even implementing closures, approaches that have serious economic impacts. For example, in the New England groundfish fishery significant reductions in resource abundance, allowable catches, and the number of active vessels reduced total fishing days by about half between 1995 to 2008 (Green, 2009; Thunberg, NEFSC, pers. comm.). Commercial and recreational fishermen in the Southeast U.S. are just beginning to feel the cost of a closure on red snapper. If better management options don’t surface soon, these impacts are expected to continue for the foreseeable future and grow as other regional fisheries close down too.

In contrast, catch share management can deliver increased prosperity, sustainability, and flexibility. Instead of pushing fishermen off the water to restore the red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico, fishery managers worked with commercial fishermen to develop a catch share program, which has increased dock-side prices, decreased bycatch and helped end overfishing (Steele 2008). Red snapper populations are now rebounding, meaning more fish for everyone, including recreational fishermen.

In the commercial Alaska halibut fishery, catch share management has extended the fishing season from less than a week to more than eight months each year, allowing fishermen to have more full-time work as well as flexibility in deciding when to fish (NOAA Fisheries 2009). These and other catch share programs stand out as the few bright spots in fisheries today.

Transitioning to catch shares now is a necessary and worthwhile investment, because it can solve the overfishing problem, while boosting profits and improving jobs for fishermen. In addition, over time catch shares can reduce and stabilize the overall federal investment needed to support fishing jobs: catch shares shift some management costs to fishermen once they are economically-viable again. I believe there are solutions for recreational fishing too—solutions that help keep fishermen on the water through better scientific data and tools to make sure that the amount of fish caught stays within limits.

Fishermen continue to suffer from the collapse of fish stocks around the country. Putting off rebuilding is not the answer as it only continues the downward spiral that has been putting people out of work for decades. Instead Congress should invest in a durable solution that restores economic, cultural, and biological prosperity to our nation’s fishing communities.

Works Cited
Green, A. (2009, May 30). Move to redefine New England Fishing. The New York Times, pp. A18.
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Snapper Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic; Red Snapper Closure. Federal Register Vol. 74 Issue. 232. 12/02/2009.
NOAA Fisheries Service. (2009). Catch Share Spotlight No. 1: Alaska IFQ Halibut and Sablefish Program.
Steele, Phil. (2008, November 17). An Overview of the Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper and Grouper/Tilefish IFQ Programs. Southeast Regional Office (SERO) National Marine Fisheries Services.

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged Fishermen, Fishing, Rally, Washington D.C. | Read 2 Responses

Southeast fishery closures make the New York Times

By / Published: February 10, 2010

SEfishingboat-sm Southeast fishermen recently finished the first month of closures on many popular fish. Many fisheries won’t open again for several months and reality is sinking in across the region.

The New York Times is even taking notice. When a region’s fishery woes make ink in one of the most prominent papers in the nation, you know it’s a big deal.

It’s apparent that closures aren’t working for fishing businesses, restaurants or local economies. Fishermen can’t make a living when they can’t fish. Businesses that rely on local fish must turn to far off places to get it. What’s not as apparent is that closures aren’t even very good for the region’s ecosystem, because they force fishermen to fish harder on other species that aren’t closed. This can cause market gluts and an early end to the fishing season for many species, which just multiplies current problems.

However, in all the sobering news coverage that’s come out lately, outlets are overlooking a solution that’s good for fish and fishing businesses.

Southeast fishermen need catch shares, which allow fishermen the flexibility to fish when the weather and prices are good and improve collection of fishery data, all while rebuilding fish populations.

The good news is that the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is already exploring this solution. In fact, the Council has scheduled a catch shares workshop for March 1 preceding the Council’s next regular meeting. If you’re interested in learning more about the best solution for Southeast fisheries, I encourage you to attend. The meeting is open to the public.

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged closures, New York Times, South Atlantic | Read 3 Responses

Maryland Watermen Keep Open Mind Towards Future and Catch Shares

By Kate Culzoni / Published: February 4, 2010

Kate Culzoni speaks to watermen at the East Coast Commercial Fishermen's & Aquaculture Trade Exposition in Ocean City, Maryland.

Over a half a foot of snow couldn’t keep watermen away from the East Coast Commercial Fishermen’s & Aquaculture Trade Exposition in Ocean City, Maryland this past weekend. The state’s biggest fishing association, the Maryland Watermen’s Association, organized a weekend full of events and seminars highlighting issues on watermen’s minds. Environmental Defense Fund had the honor of participating in this event by organizing a seminar called “Co-Managing the Future of Your Fishery – Experiences and Lessons from Fishermen across the Country.”

To bring some context to the subject, we brought in fishermen from around the nation including the President and Treasurer of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance, David Krebs and Buddy Guindon. We also tapped the expertise of Alaska halibut fisherman, Mark Lundsten and New England fisherman and catch shares expert, Dick Allen. These fishermen led a panel discussion on their experiences and lessons going from traditional fisheries management systems to catch shares management.

Gulf fishermen and Maryland watermen talk at the East Coast Commercial Fishermen's & Aquaculture Trade Exposition in Ocean City, Maryland.

The President of the Maryland Watermen’s Association, Larry Simns, opened the session requesting something from the 50 or so watermen in the audience. “Whether you are for or against catch shares, we all need to keep an open mind and see how at least parts of this system can help the future of our fisheries,” Simns stated.

Maryland watermen asked many questions and raised concerns about catch shares but repeatedly said they were maintaining an open mind about the solutions that catch shares can offer to fisheries.

Posted in Mid-Atlantic / Also tagged Maryland | Read 2 Responses

NOAA’s New National Catch Shares Program: An investment that makes (dollars and) cents

By Amanda Leland / Bio / Published: February 2, 2010

Amanda Leland, EDF Oceans National Policy Director.

Yesterday NOAA released its budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year 2011. While the National Marine Fisheries Service budget request was decreased by 1.5%, it included a key feature: the creation of a new National Catch Shares Program, which would provide significant resources—over $50M—to those fisheries wanting to transition to catch shares.

This federal investment comes at the right time because under conventional management fishermen struggle to make ends meet and fish stocks continue to decline. Well-designed catch shares, on the other hand, can end overfishing while increasing fishermen’s profitability and wages and decreasing government costs. NOAA’s announcement is a welcome shift in fisheries policy that will quickly accrue benefits to fishermen, fish populations, and the federal budget’s bottom line.

Fishermen are increasingly embracing catch shares because they boost profitability, wages, and safety. Catch shares enhance fishery economics with optimized catch limits (as overfished stocks recover and science improves), increased efficiency of fishing operations, and higher dock-side prices. On average, fisheries in North America have realized an 80% increase in revenues five years after catch share implementation. In contrast, for many prized species the alternative to catch shares is closures, which will push fishermen off the water and have a devastating economic impact on coastal communities.

As fisheries grow economically, catch shares can transition management costs to fishermen, reducing and stabilizing the overall federal investment needed to support fishing jobs. For example, fishermen are required to recover 100% of program costs in the Alaska crab catch share. That catch share has increased the overall value of the fishery because populations are recovering (so catch limits are increasing), and dock-side values have increased. The economic increase has resulted in a surplus for management costs in 2009.

At the same time, as fisheries stabilize under catch shares, the federal government’s costs for disaster relief could substantially be reduced, which has averaged some $70 million annually over the past decade (not including salmon).
NOAA should be applauded for charting a new course and making an investment today in the solution that will help fishermen, fish populations, and the federal treasury recover.

Now we need Congress to support NOAA’s budget request.

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged Fisheries, NMFS, NOAA, President's Budget | Read 5 Responses

An Interview with Kate Bonzon, EDF’s Senior Manager of the Catch Shares Design Center

By EDF Oceans / Published: January 13, 2010

Passionate. Dedicated. Those words describe each of the professionals in the Oceans program at Environmental Defense Fund. Our team is comprised of knowledgeable people with a wide range of experience in fisheries, marine sciences and oceans policy. This series of interviews with some of our staff offers a look into their backgrounds and work in oceans conservation and fisheries management.

Kate, what do you do at EDF?

I manage the Catch Shares Design Center, which helps communities and fishery managers identify the best options as they are designing catch shares.

Catch shares aren’t one-size fits all, and should be tailored to each fishery. There have been hundreds of catch shares implemented across the globe. Most have been very successful. It’s our job to look at what works, what doesn’t and share that knowledge with communities that are getting ready to transition to catch shares. I’ve spent the last year and a half working on the Catch Shares Design Manual, which lays out a roadmap of how to develop a catch share program and the various options that are available.

I also serve as a matchmaker between the communities and fishery managers designing catch shares and the experts who are involved in successful catch shares and have a great deal of experience to draw from, like fishermen, scientists, economists and fishery managers worldwide.

What were you doing at EDF before you started working on catch shares?

One of my first assignments was to interview fishermen up and down the West Coast to gather and incorporate their valuable knowledge, such as important spawning areas, into policy discussions. When I talked to the fishermen, it was clear that traditional fishing regulations were working against them as they struggled to provide for their families and be good stewards of the oceans. I see catch shares as how we can bring back our fisheries and also keep fishermen out on the water.

Didn’t you help get loans for fishermen interested in conservation?

Yes. I helped establish the California Fisheries Fund which gives fishermen low-interest loans to move to sustainable fishing practices. I helped raise $5 million dollars for the fund, including $2 million from the State. I got to know many fishermen through that effort, including one who still regularly invites me to family dinners where he serves the delicious Dungeness crab he catches.

What did you study in school?

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay area and decided to stay close to home for school, so I went to Stanford for both undergrad and grad school. My Masters degree is in Earth Systems with a focus on marine conservation. I spent a few months at Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station in Monterey on boats and underwater studying the marine life there.

Why did you decide to work on fishery issues?

Every summer when I was a kid my family visited relatives on Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound of Washington state. We went crabbing and clamming all the time. Being on the water was paradise for me. Years later in college I jumped at the chance to take a class on fisheries and it really showed me just how solvable many of the problems facing fisheries are. I decided to apply for an internship at EDF’s oceans program and I’m still here years later.

What don’t most people know about you?

I love planning parties for my friends and family. I’ve thrown more birthday parties, engagement parties and baby showers than I can count. Most people don’t know that I love open water swimming. I swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco in 40 minutes, and I’m training to swim 3 miles with my mom in Donner Lake in the Sierras near Tahoe.

Posted in Pacific / Also tagged Fisheries Management, Fishing | Comments are closed