Managing groundfish would be much easier from now onwards as the fisheries regulators are considering a new management system. Advocates of the new plan, known as “Amendment 16,” convey the confidence of a Red Sox fan in April, the critical details of this dramatic new system of regulating fishermen will actually be determined after we buy the plan and take it for a test drive.
Catch-share program sounds elegant and simple in its basic description. The former fishery management approach of the federal government relied upon restricting commercial fishermen in their effort by limiting days at sea and the kind of equipment that was used. It is informed that under the catch-share program, all of that would change to focus on the total allowable catch of fish within species.
Each year there will be separate quota for a species catch and fishermen organized into self-managed groups would work together to reach the quota of fish allowed for them. Studies revealed that the result employs all the buzzwords anyone could hope for. The fisheries become sustainable, fishery habitat improves, communities are protected, and fish stocks are rebuilt. It is believe that Amendment 16 will result in a concentration within the fleets of all ports; to think otherwise would be naive.
The main question arises is how the catch shares are allocated to fishermen who then may contribute their shares to one of the new “sectors.” Some within the industry do understand this and are very much aware that their record of landings or catch “history” will reward them with a preferred position when quotas are distributed. All plans need enforcement, yet it remains unclear how enforcement will transition during Amendment 16.
