Collaborative Monitoring and Data Sharing to Support the Whiting Fishery Bycatch Risk Pool Brock B. Bernstein, National Fisheries Conservation Center Dave Fraser, Whiting Fishery Mothership Sector SETAC North America 33rd Annual Meeting, 2012 Long Beach, CA

Pacific Fishing, August 2012

The Setting Whiting (hake) fishery off northwest US coast Mothership and shoreside sectors Fishery converted to catch-share program in 2010 Individual whiting catch quotas Individual bycatch quotas for 4 rockfish and salmon Bycatch caps exceedingly tight, less than 1 fish in some cases Fishermen can be shut down for season after 1 bad tow One or two fishermen could shut down entire fleet Risk high and uncertain – “hit by lightning”

Bycatch Rates All rates in kg / ton Target Rates for Full Quota Canary Dark Blotched Widow POP Base rate 0.06 0.11 1.15 0.14 125% base rate 0.08 1.44 0.17 One Canary rockfish can weigh as much as 7 kg: “I have one pound of canary bycatch quota and that’s not even the head of a fish that can weigh 15 pounds. And I’m not alone, there are a whole bunch of us who have only one or two pounds.” Precise, real time data on catch and bycatch clearly critical

The Opportunity Amendment 21 allowed for coops Created incentives and regulatory framework to Manage whiting catch and bycatch quotas Balance individual accountability with shared risk Allowed fishermen choice about whether to join coop “It’s better to be in a game where risks are being actively managed than out on your own”

The Challenge Balance individual accountability with shared risk Change traditional mindset and behavior Individualism vs. collaboration Develop and apply effective sanctions Gather and use data Both historical and in real time Create incentives and mechanisms based on data Transfer knowledge as well as data

New Mindset We are all in this together - One bad tow can shut entire fleet down Currency is bycatch, not whiting Retain ownership of whiting quota - but Pool bycatch quotas Knowledge should be shared, not hoarded Data is king

Stricter Rules All developed by coop, not regulators Report catch / bycatch data in real time Require new fishing practices Nine closed “hot spot” areas SeaState can close additional areas instantaneously Real-time relocation triggers for individuals Sanctions Fines Legal actions to collect damages Restraining orders / prohibitions against fishing Other actions coop board deems appropriate

Explicit Decision Rules

Sharing Knowledge Disaster tows with high rockfish or salmon bycatch

Sharing Knowledge Rockfish schools and aggregations, Yaquina Bay

Collaborative Learning Collecting and sharing decades of individual experience Avoid dusk and dawn when whiting are higher in water column and in areas where mix with rockfish Speak up if you see someone headed for trouble Avoid long tows; time in water = bycatch, so haul back and deliver (even if more expensive) Shortwire with doors on surface if not fishing If in iffy situation, RUN! Watch out for big outgoing tides that push rockfish over edge Use the available data, plots, maps

Comparison to Shoreside Fleet Individual ownership of both whiting and bycatch quotas Theoretically can trade bycatch quota to those who need it But reluctant to trade excess in case hit by lightning Some fishermen thus shut down even though bycatch quota available Results in less economically efficient use of bycatch Less overall whiting catch and fisherman income

Questions?