Bycatch, Community Protection, and Catch Shares in a Regional Multispecies Fishery - Addressing the Gulf of Alaska

Abstract

Increasing amounts of Pacific halibut and Chinook salmon bycatch in the Gulf of Alaska groundfish trawl fishery, alongside other concerns like surplus harvesting capacity, have prompted the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to pursue the possibility of implementing a comprehensive catch share program for its management approach. This study aims to provide a comparative examination of the Gulf of Alaska groundfish fishery rationalization proposal with two other, extant catch share programs through the lens of formal policy analysis theory. By scrutinizing the Gulf of Alaska, Pacific Coast, and Northeast groundfish fisheries, this study seeks to identify effective strategies for addressing the issues at hand in Alaska, with a focus on bycatch and the emergent problem of fishing community stability. It is apparent that there is relatively widespread support for catch share programs at the federal level, with emphasis on the complex problem of small-scale stakeholder concerns. A number of different strategies are identified to address these concerns and it is increasingly apparent that any successful program design must focus on the continued evolution and refinement of said strategies and the relationships between managers and stakeholders.