ACExchange has issued the following release:
4/15/2011 – A letter to Gary Locke, Secretary of the Department of Commerce was sent yesterday from Massachusetts Congressmen Barney Frank, John Tierney and Bill Keating addressing the need for more regulation of Allowable Catch Entitlement (ACE) transfers and entitlement exchanges for NE multispecies. ACExchange, the first marketplace for the buying, selling, and swapping of ACE fishing privileges, fully supports the need for more government regulation and oversight of the current ACE transfer system.
ACExchange is a fully-transparent, nonprofit marketplace that does not play a role in price establishment, take physical possession, or promote/allow for the consolidation or manipulation of ACE fishing privileges. Similar to eBay, it is simply a free and open forum for permit holders/vessel owners (verified prior to account activation) to efficiently and directly express interest in buying, selling, or swapping ACE.
Due to growing concern from fishing communities regarding industry consolidation and manipulation within the new management system, ACExchange strongly feels that there is a distinct need for market regulation. Issues such as quota (position) limits, speculation, market manipulation, fraud, and dispute resolution should be addressed. In an effort to mitigate these problems, ACExchange has established a complete set of market rules that outline proper market participation on ACExchange.org. In addition to this, ACExchange agrees that more government oversight and attention needs to be drawn to the current transfer system.
Co-founder Keith Flett stated, “The reason we developed ACExchange.org was to provide a solution to the inefficient marketplace for ACE transfers and serve as a hub of information for fishermen to make better decisions under the new regulations. Many permit owners have a difficult time finding the allocation they need to continue harvesting, while many ‘back-door’ deals allow for trades to occur on a who-you-know basis. I am happy to see that our nonprofit will help expedite the implementation of regulation and help provide needed solutions to the industry.”
It was also noted in the letter to Secretary Locke that fishermen were concerned as to how ACExchange developed its list of current permit holders. This information is made available to the public on the NOAA website. It was the intention of ACExchange to notify these fishermen about the nonprofit organization.
ACExchange is extremely happy to see these issues brought to the table and fully supports the regulation of the ACE marketplace. The nonprofit welcomes and encourages all industry professionals to directly contact them with any questions or concerns with the exchange. For more information, please visitwww.ACExchange.org.