Only the pivotal matter of the nature of the program — was it really a catch share commodity system or something just short of that? — seemed to cause the judge difficulty.

If a true Limited Access Privilege Program, a LAPP, or an Individual Fishing Quota, an IFQ, then by an amendment sponsored by Congressman Barney Frank to the 2006 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the system would need to go to a referendum before going into effect.

Frank wrote the amendment to prevent back-door introduction of catch shares.

Catch shares almost always produce a small number of big winners and a large number of losers as the equity in the fishery is commodified, distributed according to some formula referencing past fishing history and at times other considerations, and then traded to create a more efficient economic model.

Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.