Quota Shares for the West Coast Trawl Fishery | Ecotrust

When creating a new market, design matters. A proposal under consideration by the Pacific Fishery Management Council to assign quota shares in the West Coast groundfish trawl fishery would set an important precedent for U.S. fisheries regulation.

From the Ecotrust report (lead author Eric Enno Tamm), "Fair Catch: Ten ways to improve the catch share proposal for the West Coast trawl fishery" (pdf):

Summary of Recommendations
Economic

• Foster an affordable fishery by limiting quota to active fishermen.
• Regulate quota leasing to prevent unfair profiting from absentee quota ownership, and to prevent perpetual leasing.
• Increase market transparency by creating an online quota exchange.
• Improve market liquidity by auctioning a portion of quota for fixed terms.

Social

• Invest in fishing communities through initial quota allocations and allowing Community Fishing Associations to purchase further quota while protecting against excessive concentration.
• Safeguard crew earnings by providing initial allocations to captains and crew.
• Support new entrants and small operators by establishing owner-on-board rules and providing an initial allocation for new entrants.

Ecological

• Provide incentives for low-impact, low-carbon fishing gear by reconsidering intersector allocations and gear-switching rules to provide a more equitable basis and incentives for fixed-gear vessels to harvest trawl quota.
• Prohibit hoarding and profiteering on overfished species by placing overfished species quota in a public conservation trust that leases the quota to fishermen at prorated fees.
• Prevent inter-fleet spillover by implementing policies to prevent or mitigate negative impacts of spillover of trawl vessels into crab, shrimp, and other fisheries.

See also:

Ecotrust Testimony on Fisheries Catch Shares

A cautionary tale about ITQ fisheries

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