There is no doubt that catch share programs can cause consolidation, trimming the number of vessels and stakeholders in a fishery. New England fishing communities are making sure that doesn’t happen to them as they transition to a catch share program for groundfish next year. Bankrolled by $5 million from the federal government, ‘permit banks’ are being set up to buy fishing permits for 19 groundfish species, and lease the catches to boats ported in Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The permit banks will be operated by each state or by private nonprofits. Philip Conkling, president of the Island Institute in Rockland, Maine, said that permit bank help fishing communities to have the right access to the resource right off their shores. The main qualification to access the permits are a boat must be 45 feet or less, and home port in a town with fewer than 30,000 residents.
Fishermen and coastal communities are encouraged by the permit bank opportunity, and hope it will anchor small boat fleets in their historical towns. Philip Conkling credited federal fishery managers for finally paying attention to the little guys. Alaska has tried to help small coastal towns hang on to shares of halibut and sablefish through a unique Community Quota Entity program, but there have been few takers.
