What is a Catch Share?
| Hear from the fishermen |
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Crab fishermen in Kodiak, Alaska talk about the suffering the community and families are going to endure because the fishing waters are being basically privatized. Local crab boat owners who are part of a family of fisherman |
A catch share, also known as an individual fishing quota, is a transferable voucher that gives individuals or businesses the ability to access a fixed percentage of the total authorized catch of a particular species. Fishery management systems based on catch shares turn a public resource into private property and have lead to socioeconomic and environmental problems.
Contrary to arguments by catch share proponents – namely large commercial fishing interests – this management system has exacerbated unsustainable fishing practices.
In addition, catch shares have:
- drastically consolidated profits
- eliminated jobs
- decreased crew pay
Moreover, catch shares have not lived up to their promise of advancing the safety of fishermen and women.
Once implemented, catch share programs fundamentally transform fisheries and are extremely difficult to reverse. Without policies that explicitly stop catch shares, this management system will spread to new fisheries.
Learn More
Issue Brief:
Catch-and-Trade Catastrophes: Failures in Fishery Quota Programs
Fact Sheets:
Fair Fisheries Management in Namibia
Catch Shares: Problems in Fisheries Management
Fair Fish: Fair Access to Fish
Press Releases:
Catch Share Task Force Statement Vague
Obama Administration Approves Harmful Privatization Plan for Managing Mid-Atlantic Fishery