Tag Archives: Ethical Issues

CFOOD: Ethical Issues in the Gulf Snapper Fishery

CFOODIn 2007 the Gulf snapper fishery moved to an individual fishing quota management system (IFQ). Under this system, each fisher was allocated a certain amount of fish for the year instead of having a fishing season and race to fish. Kingpins of the Gulf make millions off red snapper harvest without ever going fishing by Ben Raines, AL.com January 24th 2016 “AL.com has looked into the issue of leasing of red snapper quota, and found that prices for commercial leases have meant working fishermen often pay more to lease snapper quota from the quota holders than they earn from the catching the fish itself. They question why commercial snapper, unlike oil or forestry products, should not be put out to bid, but allocated to the historical fishermen.” Raines concluded that 77 percent of the annual red snapper catch is held by just 55 people. Bruce Turris, President of Pacific Fisheries Management Inc. responds. Read it here 21:12