Federal managers for Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries are crafting a plan that will reduce bycatch by trawlers, and will very likely result in catch shares. Now is the time for fishing residents to make sure the program protects their access to local resources and sustains their coastal communities.
Currently, the plan includes trawlers in the Central Gulf and both trawl and pot cod gear in the Western Gulf.
"Catch-share programs certainly can benefit the long term viability of the resource. . . . but only if they are designed right and the long-term health of the resource, the community and genuine bycatch reduction measures are built in up front," said Theresa Peterson of Kodiak, a spokeswoman for the Alaska Marine Conservation Council and a member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council's advisory panel.
Peterson added that it is really tough to add in community protections after a privatization plan hits the water.
"We've all learned lessons from past programs, such as the rapid consolidation of ownership, reduced opportunities for crew and captains and shore support workers, the increased costs of entering into a fishery and the potential for absentee ownership and quota leasing," she said.
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