Gulf shrimper Buddy Guindoin points out in today’s Seattle Times article – Most fishing deaths among Gulf shrimp crews, study says – that traditional fishing regulations create a “nightmare” derby fishing atmosphere with short fishing seasons. This often puts fishermen in an unsafe race to fish and can encourage them to go out in bad weather.

The system of having all fishermen try to sell fish at the exact same time also drives down their profitability, making it harder for them to maintain their vessels and afford for health insurance. Quotas or catch share management caps harvest levels for the season, so fishermen can take their time to fish when they want, and can work shorter hours and rest between trips.

A study of fisheries in the US and Canada found after shifting to catch shares that the fishery safety index increased by 250 percent, measured by vessels lost, search/rescue missions, fatality rate, lives lost, and safety violations.