Awhile back we talked about the spat between recreational and commercial grouper-ers in the Gulf of Mexico. I think it boils down to the rec guys think that NMFS is overcounting fish caught for fun and the commercial guys think that fish caught for fun shouldn't be caught. Something like that.
Then, back in October the NMFS shut down the "shallow-water" grouper fishery (red, black, gag, yellowfin, scamp, yellowmouth, rock hind, and red hind). I guess something isn't right with this fishery. Go figure: open access regulations haven't dealt successfully with overfishing.
Also, in October, the NMFS held a referendum with Gulf of Mexico reef fish permit holders in which they voted to buy back the permits of commercial grouper fishermen. The referendum committee recommended that the votes were to be weighted by landings. There were 216 yes votes and 349 nos. But, when weighted by pounds the yes votes represented 70% of the landings and the referendum was approved.*
The split vote has caused some controversy (Grouper buyout plan ...):
Bob Spaeth, chairman of the industry committee that drafted the proposal, said the vote shows that fishermen whose livelihoods depend on grouper fishing favor the plan.
But commercial grouper fisherman Martin Fisher said the industry doesn't want the plan and the unweighted vote proves it. "That vote was very clear and very loud," Mr. Fisher said, calling the weighted vote a "farce and a fallacy."
The thing is, the vote is advisory and the buybacks are voluntary. The plan must win approval from Congress (and funding, I suppose), and then the fishermen don't have to accept the buyback payment. So what is the fuss? My guess is that the small boats that want to stay in the industry are worried about increased concentration and market power. But, I'm not sure how this really hurts the small operators. Am I missing anything?**
Whatever is going on with the voting incentives, the movement toward limited entry seems to be a step in the right management direction. If they start mentioning some sort of transferable quotas (a whiff of something to come tomorrow, after a bit more reading) we can all be happy.
*By the way, I'm trying to get the voting date from the NMFS. It would make an interesting analysis to determine the factors the led to yes and no votes. My fingers are crossed.
**And, here is some background on the gulf grouper fishery managment.
