Conservation Law Foundation, with a caveat, suggests Sectors have done well. In an as-yet unpublished response, Saving Seafood suggests it's too soon to tell and CLT's criticism of those who warned disaster was on the horizon ignores the fact that NOAA's correct actions moved the horizon. WASHINGTON — May 11, 2011 — Editor's Note: The following assessment of the first year of Sectors appeared today on the Conservation Law Foundation's recently-inaugurated blog "Talking Fish". The post cites a February 2010 Saving Seafood article as evidence that those who forecast doom and gloom for the Sector system were off-base. Saving Seafood Executive Director Bob Vanasse submitted a response to the post an hour after it was published, but it did not clear CLT's editorial approval process by posting time, so we reproduce his comments here and link our readers to the CLT blog.
Dear "Talking Fish":
Coincidentally, I spoke this morning with a senior NOAA representative discussing this very topic, the economic ramifications of Sector management. NOAA's social science groups are currently studying the economic and social consequences of the first year of Sector Management. At Saving Seafood, we have been trying since last summer to get solid numbers on net, not gross, revenues under Sector Management. Neither NOAA's study, nor the reconciled reports, nor net numbers are yet available, so while we can all hope that the results will be good, the Conservation Law Foundation's declaration of success is premature.
You state that, the "groundfish fleet now has the option to join a sector", and your linked definition of "sectors" defines them as "voluntary". As Richie Canastra pointed out at the Standard-Times forum in New Bedford last fall, joining sectors was not truly voluntary, as fishermen were presented with something between a Hobson's Choice and a Morton's Fork. In Richie's words, it was like Stalin's collectivization of farms; you didn't have to agree to collectivize, but your option was Siberia.
At a Washington's Birthday meeting with Senator Kerry in New Bedford, a fishermen from the South Shore who chose to stay in the common pool described his experience in terms that could be justifiably defined as "economic Siberia," and noted that as a result he intended "reluctantly" to join a Sector for the upcoming year.
Obviously, regulation is not a voluntary process; by definition citizens are compelled to adhere to laws and regulations. However, to declare actions "voluntary" when in many cases they were actually coerced as a result of how the options were designed is not an honest assessment.
Finally, you cite our Feb. 17, 2010 story "Sector Management promises benefits, faces obstacles, and raises concerns" by Jonathan Hemmerdinger as an inaccurate prediction that catch limits might be exceeded. In fact, the primary example cited in that story as a species most likely to cause a widespread shutdown was pollock. During the past fishing year, NOAA found its original pollock allocation to be inappropriately low, and increased it sixfold. As the NOAA chart you reproduced indicates, approximately 33% of the eventually-authorized pollock allocation was caught. But without the in-season increase — which those who were quoted in February 2010 had no way of knowing would happen — their predictions would have been accurate.
Respectfully,
Bob Vanasse
Executive Director
Saving Seafood
1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W.
Suite 420 East
Washington, DC 20007
The original "Talking Fish" post follows:
By Talking Fish on May 11, 2011
When the most recent changes to fishing management for the cod, haddock and flounder we love to eat were being finalized in New England during the fall of 2009, things did not look so good: 80 percent of these groundfish stocks were overfished, subject to overfishing, or both. Revenues for fishermen had plummeted 50 percent during the fifteen years of management under the old system, called days-at-sea. And consolidation cut the fleet in half between 1994 and 2007.
Now, one year has passed since the new plan called Amendment 16 brought a different type of management to the region. It introduced legally required science-based Annual Catch Limits (ACL) to prevent overfishing as part of a program to allow fishermen more freedom in running their business operations. The groundfish fleet now has the option to join a sector – essentially a fishing cooperative that receives a portion of the annual catch limit based on the historic landings of its members. Seventeen sectors were formed and most of the fishery joined this new program and operated within the annual catch quotas.
It is still early to be evaluating the overall performance of sectors, but early indications are good. From a conservation point of view, the system is already achieving its goals. Based on reports that cover the entire first year (May 1, 2010 through April 30, 2011), sectors did not exceed any of the catch limits, despite predictions to the contrary.
By contrast, catch limits in the common pool topped the 90 percent mark on two stocks, and fishing on another two went over the science-based catch limit. Since the bulk of the fishery is now in sectors, the combined picture of the fishery still looks good, and none of the overall ACLs were exceeded.
Of course, challenges lie ahead. Continued progress on making catch monitoring both more effective and more affordable is essential. Regulators should encourage the introduction of new, selective gear technologies that target healthy stocks with incentives for innovations. Preserving fleet diversity and ensuring that there are opportunities for younger fishermen to enter the fishery is also crucial for the future of New England’s communities and fisheries. Permit banks are in development already to address some of these concerns.
Still, the numbers we have seen so far are great news for the sector program and bode well for the future as fish populations rebuild. Furthermore, fishing within the science-based limits is bringing an end to overfishing, which is the primary goal of our nation’s fishing law, the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Read the original post from Talking Fish.