On Tuesday, March 16, 2010 the House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, led by Del. Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-GU), held an oversight hearing on "Catch Shares as a Management Option: Criteria for Ensuring Success.
Highlights of the statements and testimony are listed below, along with links to the full testimony of witness and statements of Members where available.
Rep. Madeleine Z. Bordallo, (D-Guam), Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans
-“There is no universal agreement on the merits of catch shares. Proponents argue that they [catch shares] reduce by catch, increase efficiency, and enhance the industry’s role in fishery conservation. Opponents, on the other hand, are concerned that catch shares will result in fleet consolidation and the loss of fishing communities. The amount of anecdotal evidence to support either side is considerable but research about the impacts of catch shares on both the fish and the fishers is quite slim.”
Read the opening statement of Chairwoman Bordallo
Congressman Henry E. Brown, Jr., (R-South Carolina) Ranking Republican Member, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans
-“Rarely do we see all the fishery sectors speaking with one voice” [like we did in the united we fish rally]
-“It seems that while the agency is willing to increase funding by $810 million for one satellite program to gather climate information, it apparently can only find about one million dollars increase for the stock assessment program for the 530 fishery stocks that NOAA manages. This does not reflect the actual needs of the agency for fishery management.”
-“I would like to suggest that NOAA concentrate on figuring out how many fish are out there and how to keep fishermen working rather than spending 54 million dollars telling fishermen how great catch shares are.”
“At the subcommittee’s hearing … concern was raised that the new catch share program initiative request for $54 million dollars is taking money away from other agency needs such as stock assessments, cooperative research and data collection on recreational fishing activities.”
“Catch share programs have been and can be effective, but only when the fishermen are active participants of the development and design of those programs.”
Congressman Doc Hastings, (R-Washington) Ranking Republican Member, Committee on Natural Resources
-“Catch shares should be formed from the bottom up, through the regional management council system, and not forced or mandated by the agency. The agency should not be pushing catch shares where they are not wanted.”
-“Implementing catch shares does not eliminate the need for basic stock assessments, data collection and enforcement. These are fundamental requirements for the management of the fishery whether under the catch shares program or some other fishery management plan.”
-“Catch share programs have been, and can be effective, but only when the fishermen are active participants in the development and the design of those programs”
Eric Schwaab, Director, National Marine Fisheries Service
-“Catch share systems provide in many cases, innovative solutions that keep fishermen fishing while resources recover, rather than employing closures or other very restrictive seasons that push fishermen off the water”
-“The president’s FY11 budget requests a total of 54 million dollars for catch shares nationwide. This request supports analysis and evaluation of fisheries for catch share programs, development of fishery management plans and regulation, and increased investment in observing and monitoring cooperative research in other activities. This funding is not requested at the expense of other important fishery research and management programs.”
Chairwoman Bordallo: “Do you think NOAA has prioritized catch shares over science…?”
Schwaab: “…A significant amount of the investment in catch share dollars will in fact yield important new monitoring and observer data which will contribute to our overall science”
Read the written testimony of Director Schwaab
Congressman Peter DeFazio, (D-Oregon)
Peter DeFazio: Mr Rosenberg, in your testimony it says, “In order to meet social and economic goals, important considerations of program design includes rules, fees, eligibility requirements based on transferability of quota shares; these issues can be dealt with but it is very much harder to do so after the implementation of the system than as part of the initial implementation”…So [speaking to Schwaab], are we ready to move forward…have we adequately addressed all those issues on the timeline that your agency has set, or perhaps we should take a little longer to discuss this…?
Eric Schwaab: …there are a number of elements of that process moving forward that have to be addressed.
DeFazio: Would you support taking longer to do this at the outset…or can you say, “Well, if you [NOAA] can’t really address these issues before 2011, let’s [NOAA] put it off and spend more time getting it right”?
Schwaab: If circumstances suggested that we could not move forward on the current timeline in an effective way we would certainly be receptive to delay. We may find ultimately that we are not able to meet that January 1 date.
Andrew Rosenberg, Senior Vice President for Science and Knowledge, Conservation International
-“One of the greatest potential benefits of the catch share system is that in principle many of the decisions about fishing tactics are internalized to the fishery rather than by regulation….In my observation those participating in catch share systems usually become strong supporters of the approach, but the corollary is that those who opt out or are left out usually seem to assign all problems of the fishery to that same catch share approach.”
Read the written testimony of Dr. Rosenberg
Congresswoman Lois Capps, (D-California)
Lois Capps: Should catch shares be allocated and what steps can be taken to limit consolidation as one aspect of the local economic factors?
Andrew Rosenberg: I think it depends upon an actual analysis of what the financial conditions are for many of the businesses within the fishery and probably multiple communities…having more analysis upfront would be very beneficial.
Capps: I really believe this hearing begs the need for more hearings on this topic; many, many unresolved questions and concerns.
Edward Backus, Vice President, Community Ecosystem Services, Ecotrust
-“In fisheries, we regard CATCH SHARE programs as having several valuable features, including increasing vessel safety, extending fresh market seasons and most important, accountability and incentives at the level of the individual vessel. But the dark side of fisheries quota programs is that they create an intangible asset which can then migrate away from communities, displacing the economic benefits of fishing in a painful manner.”
-“Recommendations: That NOAA strengthen the new policy on CATCH SHARES to set the following required standards on US fishery management councils if and when the undertake CATCH SHARE programs: Mandate the direct allocation of community ownership of at least 10% of all quota shares in each fishery management council region; require the development of community fishing associations regional fishing associations and other community structures now authorized in Magnuson”
Read the written testimony of Mr. Backus
Leesa Cobb, Executive Director, Port Orford Ocean Resource Team
Catch Share programs prevent people from entering the fishery, unless they come from established fishing families already owning boats, or are wealthy enough to purchase quota.
I am troubled by NOAA and the Councils saying that Catch Shares are not a property right. If you can buy and sell quota, take it to the bank and mortgage quota, fight over quota in divorce court – quota is property.
It is common knowledge that Catch Share programs improve economic efficiency and by their very nature result in consolidation of the fleet. This in turn causes loss of jobs, economic disruption to coastal communities that rely on fishing jobs, and can cause the loss of infrastructure at ports that traditional fishing relies on.
Read the written testimony of Ms. Cobb
Mark Fina, Ph.D. Senior Economist, North Pacific Fishery Management Council
The gravity of the radical change in management to catch shares for some stakeholders should not be underestimated. As with all management programs, catch shares programs, particularly at the initial allocation, define “winners” and “losers”. While the Council’s public process is intended to ensure that a program achieves its goals with minimal negative consequences, decision makers should be prepared to critically review the effects of these programs and adopt modifications as needed.
Read the written testimony of Dr. Fina