Catch Shares
Quota Services Include:
- Facilitation of quota transfers and leases
- Display of quota price discovery & transactions history
- Creation of a centralized comprehensive ITQ data registry
- Facilitation of bycatch credits transactions where applicable
- Direct access for quota dealers
- To date landings by sector and fishery
- Direct link to all NOAA transfer documentation
- Online tracking of quota transfers
- Admin function allows sector heads to control interface with commercial fleet
- Aggregation of seafood and fishery sector news and data content
Sustainable Fisheries & Quota Information
Supporting a Market Based Approach to Sustainable Fisheries Management
Globally fisheries are experiencing alarming rates of over-harvesting and some fisheries are in significant decline. The Earth platform supports sustainable fisheries. A sustainable fishery is one where fish and shellfish populations are harvested at rational levels and in ways that do not destroy or degrade habitat or kill large numbers of non-target species (by-catch). Very few fisheries are managed sustainably due to what is called the “tragedy of the commons.” This situation occurs when a “public good” such as a fishery or a commons is exploited by multiple individuals who’s individual welfare is not closely tied to the welfare of the common resource.
One potential solution to this problem is the establishment of Limited Access Privilege program (LAP) which establishes a mechanism to divide the Total annual Allowable Catch (TAC) among fishery participants. This division into units – generally referred to as “catch shares” - is overseen by a Fishery Management Council (FMC).
Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQ), Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQ), are a form of community based quota system such as Cooperatives or Community Development Quota (CDQs) systems. These catch shares assign holders a specific percentage of the TAC. Some catch share systems allow controlled trading and sales of quota among fishery participants.
Under the re-authorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act all managed fisheries will be required to establish an annual catch limit or TAC or cap by 2011. Although this is extremely unlikely to occur by the target date, NOAA is strongly advocating that most fisheries adopt some form of Limited Access Privilege (LAP) program.
The Earth platform will be establishing a centralized U.S. platform supporting all forms of quota. We will begin with only a few fisheries and expand the program based on demand.