{"id":4267,"date":"2012-11-21T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-21T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/edfish\/?p=4267"},"modified":"2012-11-20T18:38:49","modified_gmt":"2012-11-20T22:38:49","slug":"how-catch-shares-are-working-in-the-gulf-of-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/edfish\/2012\/11\/21\/how-catch-shares-are-working-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"How Catch Shares are Working in the Gulf of Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>For over 20 years I\u2019ve worked in the field of fisheries and ocean conservation, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico.\u00a0 During that time I\u2019ve been privileged to catch and enjoy the region\u2019s red snapper, kingfish and flounder.\u00a0 In my view, we can and should balance conservation of the region\u2019s resources with people\u2019s need for jobs, food, and enjoyment.\u00a0 In fact, finding the balance is at the heart of the Gulf\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

Fisheries management \u2013 especially when commercial and recreational goals seem at odds \u2013 has been controversial since federal regulations came into play in the 1980s.\u00a0 A newly used tool in the Gulf called \u201ccatch shares\u201d is currently getting a lot of attention, some of it from anglers concerned that it is responsible for increasing recreational regulations and shrinking access.\u00a0\u00a0 This is a misconception.<\/p>\n

Recently, an author on the Florida Sportsman\u2019s Conservation Blog<\/a> questioned whether Environmental Defense Fund is contradicting itself in supporting catch shares to solve overfishing problems in federal commercial fisheries.\u00a0 The answer is:\u00a0 \u201cnot at all.\u201d\u00a0 As an organization, EDF works in partnership with industry and communities to find solutions to environmental problems that are also good for the economy.\u00a0 This is exactly what the Gulf\u2019s catch share programs achieve.\u00a0 They were implemented with industry leadership and support and are achieving the fishery\u2019s conservation and economic goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cCatch share\u201d management divides a scientifically-set catch limit among fishermen and holds each individually responsible.\u00a0 A fisherman can fish year-round as long as he stays within his limit.\u00a0 If he wants to catch more, he can obtain shares from another fisherman.\u00a0 In contrast, in \u201cderby\u201d management the catch limit is allocated to the fleet as a whole and fishermen race to catch as much as possible before the limit is reached and the season closed.<\/p>\n

In 2007, the commercial red snapper fishery became the region\u2019s first to switch from a derby to catch shares.\u00a0 The resurgence of the population since then is dramatic, and is good for the Gulf and the country.\u00a0 Fresh fish are available year-round to consumers from Tampa to Denver, rather than a few short months, and there are share caps to safeguard against heavy consolidation (concerns raised in the blog).\u00a0 Long-standing overfishing has finally ended with commercial fishermen staying within the catch limit and discarding far fewer fish compared to derby days.\u00a0 Coastal businesses linked to fishing are busier and fishing-related jobs are becoming more stable.\u00a0 Free from costly and ineffective trip limits, fishermen report spending less to catch the fish.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As important as red snapper are to commercial fisheries, we know that recreational fishermen value them just as much.\u00a0 In a critical way the switch to commercial catch share management is good for the recreational fishery \u2013 year after year commercial fishermen have stayed within the scientific limit, helping to rebuild the fish population. Now the catch limit, for both commercial and recreational fishermen, is steadily rising and is 60 percent higher than in 2008. That means the stock is healthy and recreational fishermen have more fish to catch in large part due to the successful commercial catch share fishery.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, sportsmen have a hard time seeing all the benefits of the recovering red snapper fishery.\u00a0 While Florida anglers may see first-hand the re-expansion of the fish across Florida, they still face short seasons, high size limits, and low bag limits.\u00a0 The management choices on the table \u2013 give up a few days for a two-fish limit, or gain a few with a one-fish limit \u2013 are bad for anglers, for-hire captains and sport businesses, and the red snapper population \u2013 just as they were for commercial fishermen under derbies.<\/p>\n

We believe there\u2019s light at the end of the tunnel.\u00a0 We\u2019re beginning to see proposals that offer hope for new choices.\u00a0 Gulf charter and headboat captains have proposed new ideas, ranging from a headboat cooperative, to \u201cdays at sea\u201d, to better and faster data using new technologies.\u00a0 Some will prove better than others, but they\u2019re on target looking for regulatory flexibility and access, accurate fish counting, and industry incentives for conservation.\u00a0 It is evident that tweaking seasons and bag limits won\u2019t ever work, but innovation and collaboration are proving they can sustain the Gulf\u2019s bounty.<\/p>\n

We value our partnerships with fishermen in Florida and across the country, and look forward to working with anglers and others interested in sustaining fish and the Gulf\u2019s heritage of fishing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For over 20 years I\u2019ve worked in the field of fisheries and ocean conservation, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico.\u00a0 During that time I\u2019ve been privileged to catch and enjoy the region\u2019s red snapper, kingfish and flounder.\u00a0 In my view, we can and should balance conservation of the region\u2019s resources with people\u2019s need for jobs, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2190,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[263],"tags":[42605,932,490],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-4267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gulf-of-mexico","tag-florida-sportsman","tag-recreational-fishing","tag-red-snapper"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Catch Shares are Working in the Gulf of Mexico - EDFish<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/edfish\/2012\/11\/21\/how-catch-shares-are-working-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Catch Shares are Working in the Gulf of Mexico - EDFish\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For over 20 years I\u2019ve worked in the field of fisheries and ocean conservation, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico.\u00a0 During that time I\u2019ve been privileged to catch and enjoy the region\u2019s red snapper, kingfish and flounder.\u00a0 In my view, we can and should balance conservation of the region\u2019s resources with people\u2019s need for jobs, ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/edfish\/2012\/11\/21\/how-catch-shares-are-working-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EDFish\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-11-21T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/edfish\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/18\/files\/2012\/11\/Pam-Baker_D4B9065_144x108.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pam Baker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Pam Baker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/edfish\\\/2012\\\/11\\\/21\\\/how-catch-shares-are-working-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/edfish\\\/2012\\\/11\\\/21\\\/how-catch-shares-are-working-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Pam Baker\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/edfish\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/96452fb48951647aa343b151d14507e0\"},\"headline\":\"How Catch Shares are Working in the Gulf of Mexico\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-11-21T12:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/edfish\\\/2012\\\/11\\\/21\\\/how-catch-shares-are-working-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":747,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/edfish\\\/2012\\\/11\\\/21\\\/how-catch-shares-are-working-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/edfish\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/18\\\/files\\\/2012\\\/11\\\/Pam-Baker_D4B9065_144x108.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Florida Sportsman\",\"Recreational Fishing\",\"Red Snapper\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Gulf of Mexico\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/edfish\\\/2012\\\/11\\\/21\\\/how-catch-shares-are-working-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/edfish\\\/2012\\\/11\\\/21\\\/how-catch-shares-are-working-in-the-gulf-of-mexico\\\/\",\"name\":\"How Catch Shares are Working in the Gulf of Mexico - 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