Cooperation to attain group goals is not as difficult as it seems. Fishing is a cooperative enterprise.
Cooperation to attain group goals is not as difficult as it seems. Fishing is a cooperative enterprise. Cooperation on the boat is necessary for a successful trip. That’s why crews are paid shares of the catch rather than wages. Cooperation on shore is necessary to deliver supplies to the boat and fish to consumers. Cooperation between managers, scientists, and fishermen is necessary for successful management. Recent scallop management has been more successful than most other fisheries. Landings have been high, prices good, and scallop stocks have been sustained near MSY.
Much of this success is a result of rotational management and access to the closed areas. Trips in the closed area access programs catch large scallops, which fetch a higher price and cost less time to shuck per pound. Higher catch rates in the access areas also translate to less dredging time relative to fishing in open areas, which reduces negative effects on habitat.
All is not well in the scallop access-area fisheries, however. Those on Georges Bank and in the Nantucket Lightship area turned into derbies due to the threat of closure when yellowtail flounder total allowable catch (TAC) limits were reached.
About Professor Georgianna…
Dan Georgianna is chancellor professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST), where he has taught for 30 years. His fields of concentration include marine resource economics, history of economic thought, and labor history. Professor Georgianna also is a member of the Scientific and Statistical Committee of the New England Fishery Management Council.
Read about this from Commercial Fisheries News.