SEATTLE – NOAA's Fisheries Service on Tuesday approved a new approach to managing the harvest of certain West Coast fish that it says will lessen competition among fishermen and reduce overfishing.
NOAA officials said the new catch-shares system – expected to take effect early next year – allows fisherman to better plan their season and fish more efficiently while reducing bycatch.
"Catch shares can stop the race for fishermen to get out on the water and catch as many fish as fast as they can until a quota is reached," said Will Stelle Jr., NOAA Fisheries Service Northwest regional administrator.
The new system sets an overall catch limit for a fishery and divides the total catch into shares controlled by individual fishermen. Fisherman can catch their shares whenever they want without worrying about competitors, and ideally while doing a better job of conserving.
The system was developed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council and has the support of the trawl fishing industry.
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