Catch share
Encyclopedia
Catch share is a term used for fishery management systems that dedicate a secure privilege to harvest a specific area or percentage of a fishery’s total allowable catch to individuals, communities or associations. Types of programs that are considered catch shares include, but are not limited to, individual transferable quota (ITQs), individual fishing quota
(IFQs), territorial use rights fisheries (TURFs), limited access privileges (LAPs), sectors, and dedicated access privileges (DAPs). Catch shares are different from traditional management as catch shares provide long-term secure privileges to participants, which has been credited as providing an incentive for efficient, sustainable use of fish stocks.
The use of catch share programs worldwide has been expanding since the earliest implementations in the 1970s. Some countries, such as Iceland, New Zealand and Australia, have made catch share programs the default management system. Some of the most recently implemented catch shares have been in the United States. In 2010, catch shares were implemented in the United States Northeast Multispecies fishery and in the United States Atlantic Sea Scallop fishery.
Worldwide there are over 275 catch share programs used in 35 countries to manage a wide variety of marine and freshwater species including finfish, sharks and crustaceans. Catch shares are used in developing and industrialized nations; artisanal and industrial fleets; and in high and low value fisheries.
and resource wastage. In common property fisheries, individual operators face an incentive to harvest as many fish as quickly as possible in order to preempt the activities by other operators.
Catch shares remove the common property nature of the fishery by providing security and exclusivity to the resource through individual (often tradable) quotas, cooperatives or area-based harvest rights, known as territorial use rights fisheries (TURFs). By providing a defined portion of the fishery to individuals or groups, operators can plan for the long-term use of the resource, which often involves maintaining a larger fish stock so as to increase the growth of stock and decrease the costs associated with fishing. With catch shares, the value of the share is tied to the health of fish stocks and the ecosystem.
Catch share programs often allow for voluntary trading, both temporary and permanent, a process that allows operators with higher returns from fishing to purchase shares from those with lower returns. Transfers ensure that operators have the opportunity to increase harvests, but that in doing so the fishery wide sustainable harvest level is not exceeded. Transfers are considered an important component of catch shares because they promote the most efficient use of the resource.
Studies examining the ecological impacts of catch shares show that they can reduce the likelihood of fishery depletion, increase participants’ compliance with catch limits, and stabilize landings and catch limits. Additional research has also shown reduced bycatch and discards in catch share fisheries.
The economic impacts of catch shares are also well documented. Catch shares have been shown to stop the race for fish often experienced in traditionally managed fisheries. Catch shares allow for the removal of season length aimed at limiting harvests, providing operators with a longer time period to harvest as well as the ability to coordinate fishing trips with market conditions. Empirical evidence has shown that fisheries become more profitable as costs of fishing are reduced and dockside prices for products increase.
Many fisheries transitioning to catch share programs have the goal of reducing overcapitalization, often resulting in a reduction in the number of vessels and a transition from many temporary fishing jobs to fewer, stable, full-time jobs. These changes often improve the economics of the fishery, but are sometimes considered undesirable from a community perspective. New institutions are being developed to improve communities’ access to shares, allow new entrants into the fishery, and/or keep quota within the community. These include the development and use of permit banks, community license banks and Community Fishing Associations. Program design features, including concentration caps, owner-on-board regulations, and trading restrictions, can be used help alleviate potential unwanted social outcomes.
Individual fishing quota
Individual fishing quotas also known as "individual transferable quotas" are one kind of catch share, a means by which many governments regulate fishing. The regulator sets a species-specific total allowable catch , typically by weight and for a given time period. A dedicated portion of the TAC,...
(IFQs), territorial use rights fisheries (TURFs), limited access privileges (LAPs), sectors, and dedicated access privileges (DAPs). Catch shares are different from traditional management as catch shares provide long-term secure privileges to participants, which has been credited as providing an incentive for efficient, sustainable use of fish stocks.
Background
The term “catch share” has been coined recently, but similar management systems providing secure and exclusive access to fishery resources have existed much longer. Community-based management in Japan's near shore fisheries began in feudal times, while modern individually-allocated catch share programs were first implemented by the state of Wisconsin in the early 1970s for important fish stocks in the Great Lakes. Additionally, Iceland and the Netherlands implemented catch shares for important stocks in the late 1970s.The use of catch share programs worldwide has been expanding since the earliest implementations in the 1970s. Some countries, such as Iceland, New Zealand and Australia, have made catch share programs the default management system. Some of the most recently implemented catch shares have been in the United States. In 2010, catch shares were implemented in the United States Northeast Multispecies fishery and in the United States Atlantic Sea Scallop fishery.
Worldwide there are over 275 catch share programs used in 35 countries to manage a wide variety of marine and freshwater species including finfish, sharks and crustaceans. Catch shares are used in developing and industrialized nations; artisanal and industrial fleets; and in high and low value fisheries.
Theory
Fisheries have historically been treated as a common property resource. The number of participants is often limited, but without individually defined shares the fishery resource retains its common property nature. The dangers of managing fisheries as a common property resource were included in the development of modern theory of fishery economics, first introduced in 1954 by H. Scott Gordon. The theoretical framework showed that the common property nature of fisheries results in competition between individual operators to increase their share of the catch, which can ultimately lead to excessive capital, such as fishing vessels and gear, overfishingOverfishing
Overfishing occurs when fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level. This can occur in any body of water from a pond to the oceans....
and resource wastage. In common property fisheries, individual operators face an incentive to harvest as many fish as quickly as possible in order to preempt the activities by other operators.
Catch shares remove the common property nature of the fishery by providing security and exclusivity to the resource through individual (often tradable) quotas, cooperatives or area-based harvest rights, known as territorial use rights fisheries (TURFs). By providing a defined portion of the fishery to individuals or groups, operators can plan for the long-term use of the resource, which often involves maintaining a larger fish stock so as to increase the growth of stock and decrease the costs associated with fishing. With catch shares, the value of the share is tied to the health of fish stocks and the ecosystem.
Catch share programs often allow for voluntary trading, both temporary and permanent, a process that allows operators with higher returns from fishing to purchase shares from those with lower returns. Transfers ensure that operators have the opportunity to increase harvests, but that in doing so the fishery wide sustainable harvest level is not exceeded. Transfers are considered an important component of catch shares because they promote the most efficient use of the resource.
Outcomes
Empirical research in the past two decades has shown that catch share management of fisheries has a variety of ecological, economic and social benefits over traditional management of fishery inputs.Studies examining the ecological impacts of catch shares show that they can reduce the likelihood of fishery depletion, increase participants’ compliance with catch limits, and stabilize landings and catch limits. Additional research has also shown reduced bycatch and discards in catch share fisheries.
The economic impacts of catch shares are also well documented. Catch shares have been shown to stop the race for fish often experienced in traditionally managed fisheries. Catch shares allow for the removal of season length aimed at limiting harvests, providing operators with a longer time period to harvest as well as the ability to coordinate fishing trips with market conditions. Empirical evidence has shown that fisheries become more profitable as costs of fishing are reduced and dockside prices for products increase.
Many fisheries transitioning to catch share programs have the goal of reducing overcapitalization, often resulting in a reduction in the number of vessels and a transition from many temporary fishing jobs to fewer, stable, full-time jobs. These changes often improve the economics of the fishery, but are sometimes considered undesirable from a community perspective. New institutions are being developed to improve communities’ access to shares, allow new entrants into the fishery, and/or keep quota within the community. These include the development and use of permit banks, community license banks and Community Fishing Associations. Program design features, including concentration caps, owner-on-board regulations, and trading restrictions, can be used help alleviate potential unwanted social outcomes.
Further reading
- Environmental Defense Fund (2010). "Catch Share Design Center" Catch Share Database, Directory of Resources and Game.