CFOOD: Ethical Issues in the Gulf Snapper Fishery
In 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
Bruce Turris has it all wrong! And clearly his response on CFOOD is a defensive reaction to some truth about his pet ITQs or Individual Vessel Quotas (IVQs) as he calls them. He has a bit of an investment in IVQs (see below). So is his rebuttal to an article pointing out the ills of consolidation and “ownership” of a public natural resource, a scientific or a marketing statement:
From his CV:
https://www.msc.org/track-a-fishery/fisheries-in-the-program/certified/north-west-atlantic/canada_atlantic_halibut/assessment-downloads-1/Bruce_Turris_CV2009.pdf
Bruce Turris has been involved in commercial fisheries management on the west coast of Canada for 25 years. A focus of the work has been on the design, development, and mplementation of new management systems and tools in fisheries faced with over-harvesting, unsustainable fishing practices, and poor economic
performance. Some notable accomplishments include:
— Implementation of the first comprehensive at-sea observer program (1984)
— Design of individual vessel quotas (IVQs) in the geoduck clam fishery (1989)
—Design and implementation of IVQs in the sablefish fishery (1990)
—Design and implementation of IVQs in the Pacific halibut fishery (1991)
—Establishment of co-management agreements in the sablefish and halibut IVQ fisheries (1993)
—Design and implementation of the first dockside monitoring programs in all groundfish fisheries (1994)
—Design and implementation of 100% at-sea observer program for the BC groundfish trawl fishery (1996)
—-Design and implementation IVQs in the multi-species groundfish trawl fishery (1997)
—Lead the BC delegation to the successful negotiation of the Pacific Hake Treaty (2003)
—Assisting in the design and development of the integrated management of all BC groundfish fisheries (2006)
Bruce’s consulting Service:
PACIFIC FISHERIES MANAGEMENT INC.
President of Pacific Fisheries Management Inc., providing consulting, executive management, policy and strategic planning services for individuals, companies, NGOs and government agencies involved in commercial fisheries. Focus on policy development, program analysis, and the negotiation, coordination and implementation of commercial fishery management programs.