Development of Fishery Management Programs Fishery management is necessarily complicated because of the nature of the industry and the need to safeguard the resource Any management should attempt to minimize complexity by only taking actions that are needed to achieve the purposes of an action

Purpose and need statement Starting point for developing alternatives The terms are in reverse – the need is the driver and is the starting point An action can have many purposes

Need for Gulf Trawl action Provide a tool for bycatch management Other purposes Balance interests of harvesting and processing sector Sustain community participation Increase safety Stability in landings Promote active participation by vessel owners Others

Gulf trawl fisheries Current management Limited access with entire TAC and limits available to any harvester Can induce a race for the available fish Suggested future management Catch share program that subdivides of the TAC and available limits among participants Program would provide a secure share to participants or groups of participants

Types of Catch Shares Cooperatives NMFS manages a group of vessels/permit holders to an aggregate limit Favored by some for coordination and communication Individual Fishing Quota Individual allocations that limit a single permit holder/vessel Favored by some for creating individual accountability

Different types of shares to consider allocating Prohibited Species Catch (BQ) Target Species Valuable Non-Targets (Secondary) Allocate species that are TAC constrained or find an alternative way of removing the constraint Do you need to allocate to achieve the purpose

How are shares distributed To whom – vessel owners, permit holders (LLP/CFEC), crew, processors, community interests On what basis – History (define relevant performance/dependence), investment, equal shares Overall – do what is fair – work from the existing conditions in the fishery modified as needed Realize that protecting all interests need not mean that all interests receive allocations but may require other types of protection Additional share holders means additional transaction costs

Purposes of Transferability Address contingencies Achieve efficiencies Constraints can always be relaxed – may be more difficult to establish constraints after implementation (particularly limits on long term transfers) Why limit the duration of shares Reduce the windfall of allocations – compare to limited access Achieve other program goals – consider administration of any redistribution – consider all incentives and consistency with other objectives

Community measures Use the simple measures first (share caps, landing requirements) unless your objective is to restructure the industry Community participation in cooperatives – what exactly is the purpose and how can it be made effective and functional while minimizing complexity and cost Resident entry – what is reasonable entry Can you create workable community preferences (e.g., right of first offer)

Adaptive management set asides Is set aside implemented from the outset or are fish stranded – consider potential to induce dependence of participants that may be neglected if reallocation is made in the future Less liberal management may be a better way to prevent undesired effects (e.g., limits on transfers, landing requirements) Processor roles in the management program Involve processors in roles that are similar to current roles Fleet coordination and information Observer/accounting roles