{"id":4173,"date":"2012-11-01T10:16:37","date_gmt":"2012-11-01T14:16:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/edfish\/?p=4173"},"modified":"2012-11-01T10:14:40","modified_gmt":"2012-11-01T14:14:40","slug":"catch-shares-address-community-impacts-in-ways-conventional-fisheries-management-cannot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/edfish\/2012\/11\/01\/catch-shares-address-community-impacts-in-ways-conventional-fisheries-management-cannot\/","title":{"rendered":"Catch Shares Address Community Impacts in Ways Conventional Fisheries Management Cannot"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>All fishing communities have one thing in common: they depend on healthy, productive fish stocks. Catch share management programs benefit fishing communities by helping to stabilize fisheries.\u00a0 Fishing is inherently unpredictable, because it depends so much on ever-changing conditions in the oceans.\u00a0 Since well-designed catch share systems give fishermen more flexibility to time their fishing activities, they are significantly better than traditional management methods at helping fishermen cope with negative fluctuations in barometric readings or in dock prices paid for the fish they deliver.<\/p>\n

Well-designed catch share systems also include tools and mechanisms that benefit communities, things you won\u2019t find under traditional management.<\/p>\n

Over the years, thousands of fishing jobs have been lost due to declining fishing opportunities. Under conventional management, fishermen face ever-increasing limits on harvest levels, and shorter and shorter fishing seasons.\u00a0 When fishing is allowed, conventional management often forces fishermen into a dangerous and inefficient race for fish.<\/p>\n

One example; in the days before catch shares, the West Coast trawl fishery was on a downward economic spiral.\u00a0 Processing plants were shuttered, infrastructure was lost, and ports became\u00a0shadows of their former selves.\u00a0 It was death by a thousand cuts \u2013 with extended fishery closures, a federal disaster declaration, dwindling trip limits, and ever-decreasing annual catch limits, fishermen were leaving the industry and the coastal communities that relied on groundfish landings were spiraling downward.\u00a0\u00a0 Under status quo management in place at the time, a handful of major players bought up permits and consolidated ownership. This meant even fewer owner-operators on the water.<\/p>\n

By contrast, the catch share program that went into place in 2011 for the groundfish fishery includes fair allocation, limits on consolidation of fishing rights, and opportunities for new entrants.\u00a0 Those elements directly benefit coastal communities and the small businesses that support fishermen.<\/p>\n

Specifically, the Pacific groundfish catch share program includes:<\/p>\n