The authority has decided to go for major cutbacks to reverse long-standing problems with overfishing and to protect the seafloor from damage caused by bottom trawling gear. This has upset the West Coast groundfish fleet who struggled to stay afloat during this tough time. They are now embarking, after years of work and negotiation, on the latest system in fisheries management, known as “catch share.”
It means that fishermen are given their own individual shares of the total catch, personal responsibility for not catching overfished species, and a promise of better prices for the fish they do haul up. Todd Whaley, 46, part-owner and skipper of the Miss Sarah, told that in the short term it might hurt people but in the long term it’s the way to go.
NOAA Fisheries Service, the federal agency that oversees commercial fishing, is pressing regional fishery councils that set harvest limits around the country to adopt catch share programs. Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, opined that the scientific evidence is pretty clear that commercial fisheries that are managed with catch shares on balance perform better than traditionally managed fisheries.
It is said that there is nothing magical about catch shares rescuing overfished stocks, but they do change the incentives so that the fishermen who have a dedicated share of a stock know they will be the ones who benefit when stocks are rebuilt. West Coast groundfish have been rebuilding since 2000, when harvests were cut in half to protect overfished rockfish. Despite limiting harvests and cutting the fleet through buybacks, several groundfish species remain overfished.
