New research looks at catch shares and fishing safety

摘要

A new study examines how catch share programs can make fishing safer by providing flexibility in when fishermen can fish.Certain "risky" behaviors make fishing one of tlie most dangerous lines of work. Previous research found that these behaviors dropped sharply following the adoption of catch share management in the West Coast fixed-gear sablefish fishery Over the past 20 years, NOAA Fisheries adopted catch shares in eight fisheries across the cottntry. Tliese catch shares, or individual fishing quotas, changed the incentives around fisheries by giving each vessel rights to a specific share of the allowable catch. Vessels could then choose how and when to fish for their share.