Federal fish quota plan catches criticism by anglers
Written by
KIRK MOORE Filed Under
News
New Jersey News
Critics of the government's drive to adopt a "catch share" fishery management protested the Obama administration's budget move to shift $17.4 million from research initiatives into the program.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would get $54 million for implementing catch shares, which allocate annual quotas among fishermen with the aim of conserving fish and making fisheries operate more efficiently.

New Jersey has long been a laboratory for one prototype — the surf clam fishery that adapted to individual transferable quotas in the early 1990s. Back then, many captains complained that the quota system cheated them of shares and cost jobs, and today the same charges are coming from New England as fishermen struggle with small quota shares and the fishing fleet consolidates.

"The public does not want catch shares, recreational charter boats do not want catch shares, the majority of commercial fishermen do not want catch shares, and yet Environmental Defense along with their former Vice Chairman Dr. (Jane) Lubchenco continue to push their agenda even though they have very little support," Captain Bob Zales II of the National Association of Charterboat Operators wrote in a letter to members of Congress.

Advocates for the recreational fishing industry said lobbyists with the Environmental Defense Fund are calling on Congress this week to build support for the catch shares budget request. But the move does not have universal support in the environmental community.

"Catch shares have been proven to skew fisheries toward industrial production, decrease job opportunities and wages for workers, and devastate coastal and fishing communities," said Wenonah Hauter of Food and Water Watch, a consumer and environmental group that opposes consolidation in the seafood industry.

NOAA's budget request sought an additional $1 million to defend against court challenges from fishermen, Hauter said.

The potential for shifting money away from research prompted members of Congress from the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic to protest "catch share policy (that) emphasizes restrictive management over research that increases quotas," Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., said Wednesday.

Funding for cooperative research between scientists and fishermen has helped reverse restrictive management trends — notably in sea scallops and monkfish — that led to greater quotas and more jobs.

"We believe the adoption of a catch share program could further reduce the ability of fishermen to generate revenue because success in fishing has traditionally depended upon the ability to choose among various fisheries as conditions warrant," said the letter signed by Pallone and eight other lawmakers representing coastal districts from Massachusetts to North Carolina.

Kirk Moore: 732-557-5728; kmoore@njpressmedia.com