Fixed share of fish

Regulators vote to overhaul West Coast groundfish fishing

By MALIA WOLLAN Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 06/12/2008 04:19:18 PM PDT




FOSTER CITY, Calif.—Pacific Coast fishery regulators voted Thursday for new rules that would dramatically change the way fishermen harvest snapper, flounder, cod and other fish that live near the ocean floor.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council gave preliminary approval to a plan that would give each fishing boat a fixed share of the West Coast groundfish fishery. A final vote on the plan is scheduled for November.
The new rules would give each trawler a percentage of the total groundfish harvest, so fishermen would not need to rush out to grab their portion of the catch. The new management program is also aimed at reducing the amount of bycatch—unwanted fish that are caught and dumped overboard.

"We're confident there will be strong conservation improvements with this program," said Johanna Thomas, a fisheries expert with the Environmental Defense Fund.

Thursday's vote marks an important step in a long campaign by fishermen and environmentalists to bring individual fishing quotas to the West Coast. The system is already used in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, Canada, Australia, Iceland and other countries.
In 2000, the federal government declared the West Coast groundfish fishery a disaster after surveys found a sharp decline in fish populations. More stringent fishing restrictions were adopted to help the fishery recover, and the government bought boats to cut the trawl fleet almost in half in 2003, leaving about 100 still
fishing.

The groundfish fishery, made up of about 80 species, is the biggest on the West Coast, worth $60 million last year.
Thursday's vote concluded two days of meetings and eight hours of public comment from fishermen, seafood processors, environmentalists and other stakeholders, including some who traveled from as far away as British Columbia to testify.
While most parties agree that individual quotas will help preserve the beleaguered fishery, fishermen and processors disagree over how the quotas should be allocated. Under the draft plan, 80 percent of the harvest would go to fishermen and 20 percent would go to processors.

That's a breakdown third-generation Oregon fishermen Kelly Smotherman finds unfair.
"It gives processors too much power," said Smotherman, 44, who fishes out of Warrenton, Ore. in a trawler he calls Fate Hunter. With fuel prices at record highs, he said fishermen like him are struggling to make a living and can't afford to give processors part of the catch.

Processors, however, are encouraged by how the preliminary plan splits the harvest.

"We're happy that there's been a recognition of our interests in this process," said Craig Urness, legal counsel for Pacific Seafood Group, one of the largest seafood processors on the West Coast.
The allocation issue must be resolved before the council adopts a final plan in November.

"It's been a long hard process," said Donald Hansen, the council's chairman. "But when it's over, we'll have a cleaner way of fishing."