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A Way To Protect Fish And Fishermen

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 12, 2008

An innovative regulatory system has not only stopped the overfishing of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico but made allies of commercial fishermen and environmentalists.

The system should be used as a model for other commercial species, particularly gulf grouper.

For years the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council tried vainly to protect the red snapper population while also sustaining commercial fishing for the tasty fish. Nothing worked.

Strict size limits led to discarding of undersized fish that did not survive capture. Strict harvest numbers caused fishing operations to race to catch all they could as fast as they could, regardless of weather conditions. The system put both fishermen and the snapper population at risk.

As Pensacola fishermen Donny Waters puts it, the pursuit became a "derby." And as the fishermen rushed to get their share of the permitted catch, they ended up glutting the market.

So last year, the council adopted individual fishing quotas, an approach championed by conservation group Environmental Defense and commercial fishing interests.

Under this system, a percentage of the annual catch limit is assigned to each snapper fisherman. The fishermen can buy and sell a share of their quota, which is based on past catches.

With individual fishing quotas, fishermen can pursue the fish when weather and market conditions are favorable without fear that the overall harvest limit will be reached.

The council also lowered the legal catch size to reduce waste.

Now fishing officials say dockside prices are up, discarded fish are down and the market has a more consistent supply of red snapper.

As Waters says, "This fixed a broken system." The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council now should expand the approach to grouper and other highly sought species.

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