They are now embarking, after years of work and negotiation, on the latest system in fisheries management, known as "catch share." Fishermen are given their own individual shares of the total catch, personal responsibility for not catching overfished species, and a promise of better prices for the fish they do haul up.
"There is nothing magical about catch shares rescuing overfished stocks, but they do change the incentives so that the fishermen who have a dedicated share of a stock know they will be the ones who benefit when stocks are rebuilt," said co-author Ray Hilborn, fishery sciences professor at University of Washington.
Not everyone in the 120-boat West Coast groundfish fleet will be a winner under the new rules. An analysis estimates 50 to 70 boats will be left with fishing permits after things sort out. The remainder will have to stop groundfishing.
"In the short term it might hurt people. In the long term I think it’s the way to go," said Todd Whaley, 46, part-owner and skipper of the Miss Sarah, a 102-foot trawler that he rigs for groundfish, Pacific whiting, andcrab, depending on the market.
Catch share gets rid of the traditional race for fish, where fishermen go full-bore until they fill an overall quota, or inadvertently catch too many overfished species — known as bycatch.
With their own quota, fishermen can fish when the weather and market are best. With that comes individual responsibility for not exceeding limits on bycatch. Those who do can buy shares to cover the excess. To reward captains who avoid bycatch, and penalize those who don’t, each West Coast groundfish trawler will have an observer on board to count every fish hauled up in the net.