An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century - California Ocean ...

Recommendation 19–15Congress should amend the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and ManagementAct to affirm that fishery managers are authorized to institute dedicated access privileges.Congress should direct the National Marine Fisheries Service to issue national guidelinesfor dedicated access privileges that allow for regional flexibility in implementation. Everyfederal, interstate, and state fishery management entity should consider the potentialbenefits of adopting such programs.At a minimum, the national guidelines should require dedicated access programs to:• specify the biological, social, and economic goals of the plan; recipient groups designatedfor the initial quota shares; and data collection protocols.• provide for periodic reviews of the plan to determine progress in meeting goals.• assign quota shares for a limited period of time to reduce confusion concerning publicownership of living marine resources, allow managers flexibility to manage fisheriesadaptively, and provide stability to fishermen for investment decisions.• mandate fees for exclusive access based on a percentage of quota shares held. These userfees should be used to support ecosystem-based management. Fee waivers, reductions,or phase-in schedules should be allowed until a fishery is declared recovered or fishermen’sprofits increase.• include measures, such as community-based quota shares or quota share ownership caps,to lessen the potential harm to fishing communities during the transition to dedicatedaccess privileges.• be adopted only after adequate public discussion and close consultation with all affectedstakeholders, to ensure community acceptance of a dedicated access plan prior to finalRegional Fishery Management Council approval.Reducing Overcapitalization of Fishing FleetsAs discussed above, the race for fish pushes fishermen to invest more and more capitalto buy bigger, faster boats and new gear, and hire additional labor. These investments areperceived as essential to stay alive in the race for fewer and fewer fish, not necessarily tomake the business more efficient. The inevitable result is economic decline, with morevessels pursuing a shrinking resource. If managers respond by further lowering the totalallowable catch, costs rise even more while average revenues drop.Over the past three decades, federal programs to subsidize the purchase or upgrade offishing vessels have resulted in U.S. fishing capacity that far exceeds the available catch.For example, the Capital Construction Fund allows fishermen to create tax-free accountsto repair or construct vessels, and the Fishing Vessel Obligation Guarantee Program provideslong-term credit for fishing vessels and related facilities. The challenge now goesbeyond removing subsidies and incentives that promote overcapitalization; it will alsotake a sustained effort to reduce the excess capacity already in place.Past capacity reduction efforts, such as the New England groundfish buyout programin the early 1990s, have been effective at removing capacity from the fleet. However, theirinitial success was undermined when new fishermen and boats were allowed to replacethose that had been retired. A new federal program, the Fishing Capacity ReductionProgram, has been criticized as being too bureaucratic and slow.Two types of management regimes can ensure that a capacity reduction program haslasting results: (1) dedicated access programs which, by definition, limit overall effort in afishery; and (2) restrictive regimes that freeze the number of active fishermen and prohibitany changes to fishing methods or gear until a fishery has been declared recovered. Thesecond option would be difficult to enforce and could meet with strong resistance fromfishermen and managers. Yet steps must be taken to end the inefficient and counter-productiveover-investment in fishing vessels and gear.290 A N O CEAN B LUEPRINT FOR THE 21ST C ENTURY