Market Approach Best for Overfishing Dilemma, Say Enviros

By Monisha Bansal
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
March 29, 2007

(CNSNews.com) - “Cap-and-trade” programs are the best way to combat the nation’s depleting fish stocks, an environmental group argued on Wednesday.

Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense, released a new report on the benefits of a “catch share system” (also called a Limited Access Privilege Program).

The report comes two months after President Bush signed the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006. The new law establishes annual catch limits and accountability measures to end overfishing. It also supports limited access programs.

The current state of America 's fisheries is clearly unacceptable," the Environmental Defense report said. It cites some scientists' warning that "the seas could be extinct by 2048."

Environmental Defense said when a fisherman's economic survival depends on his ability to fish “as hard as possible whenever possible,” overfishing is the result.

Without pre-determined caps on fishing catches, fish stocks predictably decline – leading to “a spiral of depletion and economic failure."

Under a “catch share system,” each individual fisherman, community or fishery association is given the right to harvest a certain percentage of the total allowable catch.

That way, fishermen know how many fish they will be allowed to catch – before the season begins. Proponents argue that would give fishermen more control over when and how they fish.

Environmental Defense noted that most catch-share systems allow trading – so fishermen “can buy and sell shares in order to maximize their profit." But some commercial fisherman, those who operate smaller boats, worry that the system of buying shares may allow bigger enterprises to monopolize the industry.

"Being green doesn't mean that the bottom line has to be awash in red ink," Krupp said at a press conference in Washington , D.C. , on Wednesday.

He said catch sharing "provides economic incentives for conservation" by reducing overfishing and the unintentional killing of fish and other wildlife and also increases revenues per boat by 80 percent.

James Connoughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, called catch sharing a "very important political tool."

"To be a healthier society we need to double our consumption of seafood," Connoughton said. "Currently, that is unsustainable.

"The prospect of more fish and more money is a powerful motivator," he added." We want to take advantage of this new-found commitment to end overfishing in America , this new-found commitment to rebuild our fish stocks, and this new-found excitement over these market-based strategies for doing so."

Connoughton noted that there are currently eight programs in the U.S. , with plans to expand those to 16 by 2010.

"This is a tool we know how to use," he said.

Unusually, environmentalists and free-market groups agree on the benefits of a catch share program.

"Where fishers are able to collectively determine overall catches for themselves, they have strong incentives to ensure that their harvests are sustainable and that their limits are enforced," wrote Michael De Alessi, former director of the Center for Private Conservation at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

"Limiting access and allowing the private ownership of fishery resources, or at least some sense of it, is the surest way to ensure the long-term health of a fishery," he said. "The closer these institutional arrangements resemble private property rights, held either in common or individually, the better off a fishery tends to be."

"Our members are committed to responsible fishing practices and the sustainable management of our oceans," the National Fisheries Institute said in a position statement.

"As stewards of our environment, we recognize that investment in our oceans today will provide our children and future generations the health benefits of a plentiful supply of fish and seafood tomorrow."

The group said it helps to "ensure a sustainable and environmentally sound resource for future generations" by encouraging the use of Limited Access Privileges.

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