A reminder to interested parties of the recent articles and studies addressing the many issues and questions that have arisen in the debate on catch shares.
We urge all stakeholders to ask the difficult questions, seek realistic answers, and most of all, exercise the first amendment right to participate in an open governmental process.
ACADEMIC REPORT: A New England Dilemma: Thinking Sectors Through
On Monday,Seth Macinko and William Whitmore of the Department of Marine Affairsat the University of Rhode Island, completed a report they describe as"an ‘outside’ consideration of the current policy process playing out in the New England Fishery Management Council arena. The executive summary raises important points concisely.
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As support builds for sectors, some fishermen express skepticism
This New Bedford Standard Times observed that for the past five years, New England fishermen havewatched their groundfishing season shrink, their trip limits drop andtheir profits plummet under restrictions designed to build sustainable populations of cod, flounder and other overfished species.
NOAA Moves Forward With Catch Shares
A Science Insider blog argues that recent scientific analyses show usthat fisheries managed with catch share programs perform better thanfisheries managed with traditional tools. Even in the first years afterimplementation, catch share fisheries are stable, and even increasetheir productivity.
Fishermen wary of ‘catch shares’
The New England Fishery Management Councilsolicited advice from fishermen before making a series of what membersadmit will be "brutal" decisions next month certain to radically alterthe industry and leave a trail of winners and losers.
Canadians share fishing success story
An alternative fisheries management systemunder consideration by New England regulators has brought success tothe Canadian groundfishing industry, including increased profits,better scientific data, less waste and improved relationships withfisheries managers. Two fishermen and an economist from BritishColumbia visited New Bedford to discuss the mechanics of their catchshare system with local fishing representatives.
Lubchenco pushes ‘catch shares’
National oceans and fishing administrator Jane Lubchenco promoted "catch shares," the commodification of wild stock into negotiable rights, as the key to healthy future fisheries.
OPINION: by FRANK MIRARCHI: Half a century of fishing
I view the advent of sectors as the opportunity of a lifetime. Over theyears, the business of fishing has been degraded by inefficiency andgrowing price volatility. But rather than merely celebrating theelimination of past transgressions, I look forward to futureopportunities as well. We will be able to develop business plans whichrespond to market opportunities rather than react to regulated fishingseasons as is the case today.
LETTER: Fishing plan demands individual allocations The New England Fishery Management Council tried catch quotasimmediately after it was organized in 1977. By 1982 the council and theNew England fishing industry were so frustrated with quota-relatedproblems that they abandoned catch quotas and spent the next 10 yearsdeveloping the input controls that have now proven to be similarlytroublesome.
Environmental Defense Fund Associate Vice President comments on proposed catch share policy EDF’s Associate Vice President argues that the top government officialfor the nation?s fisheries took a giant step in the right direction forthe U.S. fishing industry and the oceans. At a speech in Boston, Dr.Jane Lubchenco, the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) announced that she was creating a task force to develop a newpolicy on catch shares to ensure that they are fully considered when fishery management councilsamend management plans. Recent scientific studies have shown that catchshares perform dramatically better than conventionally-managedfisheries.
EDF also recommends the following resources:
* Sustaining America’s Fisheries and Fishing Communities report
* Science study – Can Catch Shares Prevent Fisheries Collapse
* Oceans of Abundance working group report
* EDFish – EDF Oceans program’s blog on catch shares and our oceans work
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