A scientific study has found that most of the U.S. fisheries operating under catch share management principles show consistency over time in their effect on fishing effort and landing rates — qualities claimed by catch share advocates and Obama administration officials in the growing national debate on its newly announced national policy.
But the study also found "inconclusive evidence as to whether catch shares actually lead to healthier fisheries and ocean ecosystems," according to a summary of the "new scientific analysis" by Timothy E. Essington, an associate professor at the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington.
Those qualities have also been claimed extensively by backers of the conversion to catch share regulatory policies, which aim to manage fisheries based on fishermen's actual catch as opposed to the current system of effort controls — limiting their days at sea or access to specific fishing grounds.