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O.K., first of all catch shares have nothing to do with the quota or allowable catch. All catch shares do is to say who gets to catch it.
In the commercial sector it will reduce the number of boats in that particular fishery, particularly small boats. The reason is simple economics. Its much cheaper for a big boat with lots of capacity to store fish to make a extra tows to fill that hold than it is for a small boat to go out every day. Every commercial fishery that has gone to catch shares has seen the fleet reduced by 30 to 50%. The big boats buy the shares from the small boats and they can afford to do it because it costs them less to catch each pound of fish.
In the recreational sector there are at least two (maybe more) anticipated detrimental effects. Charter/party boats will get their own shares. This will probably also cause fleet consolidation which will increase fares to recreational fishermen. Secondly, Individual fishermen may have to get tags, which will be limited in number, to fish for a particular species. Want to striper fishing? you better have a striper tag. Once the limited number of tags is distributed they will be bought and sold on the open market. How much are you willing to pay to go on a fishing trip? If you don't have a tag, you'll have to buy one on the open market or charter a boat that still has quota.
All of this is being pushed by the usual anti-fishing suspects, Particularly the Environmental Defense Fund, who gave us Lubchenco. the current head of NOAA. At a recent conference hosted by the Packard foundation in which groups such as EDF, PEW, Oceana participated, they discussed how to make investments so as to control catch shares so that they could decide what to do with the catch shares.
So if you are all for increased costs to go fishing and putting the honest small boat commercial guy out of work, then by all means support catch shares.
Someone mentioned Halibut, try going halibut fishing in Alaska these days, the cost has gone through the roof since they brough catch shares to the halibut fleet. Prices for recreational halibut charters have doubled since the catch shares came in and you can forget about keeping your catch unless you want to pay a premium for doing so.
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