81% of the Gulf Grouper fishermen with full time fishing histories chose the Catch Share program in our industry referendum. However, we do not want to impose our ideas on any other fishermen. They should have the right to choose their management system, just like we have. 

Healthy fisheries are good for our fishing jobs and communities. Healthy fisheries also assure that Gulf Reef Fishermen can continue to supply fresh seafood to the 98% of our citizens who are unable to catch their own. Here is how the Gulf Grouper Catch Share program is helping accomplish these goals: 

Additional information on these topics is explained below:   

Catch shares has revitalized the Gulf Grouper fishing industry.

The fishery has been plagued in recent years by long and frequent closures due to overfishing. Fishing has not been a good business for anyone, and many fishermen left without compensation. Our Gag Grouper fishery needs to be rebuilt, and that process using any other system would have caused our fishery to be closed for most of the year. The Catch share system will enable us to fish for other groupers while we rebuild Gag, and we now have a fishery with a future.  

Catch Shares is solving overcapacity in the Gulf Grouper fishery fairly.

It is difficult to make fishermen happy on the short term. Here’s an example: Of 1000 Gulf Reef permits, 700 of them caught less than 8000 lbs per year. This doesn’t even amount to a part-time job. These open permits represented a huge unrestrained potential in a fishery already overfished. With Catch Shares, each fisherman received a quota proportionate to their annual landings history. If a fisherman wants to catch more than their quota they can now lease quota from other fishermen, or they can buy out some of the fishermen who choose to retire. They can earn a comparable income since the 20% value increase covers the cost of quota.  

One other important thing happened. Catch Shares increased the value of even the part-time businesses. For the first time ever, those fishermen that decide to retire are compensated well.  

Catch Shares have increased the value of the Gulf Grouper resource. These closures cause unreliable supply to consumers, business interruption and losses to fishermen and seafood distributors. Closures also cause “derby fishing” which is a race to catch as many fish as possible during the open season. The result is too many fish during the open seasons, no fish during the closed season, lower seafood quality, and lower market value. This also wastes some of the economic value of our resource. 

In three short months in the Grouper fishery, Catch Shares has solved these problems and the value of the fish has increased 20%. 

Catch Shares put Gulf Grouper Fishermen back in charge of their business. In any other system that has been tried, regulators had to revise policies not just by the year, but almost by the quarter. This unpredictability made sound business almost impossible. 

The Red Snapper catch share program is a perfect example of the effects of Catch Shares: The single new policy that has been enacted in three years has been to increase the quota because the fishery has rebounded and we have confidence in the controls.  

Catch Shares control catches. Fishermen control their businesses. 

Catch Shares have given Gulf Grouper fishermen new ways to reduce waste. Example: The resurgence of Red Snapper has caused inadvertent bycatch in the Grouper fishery. With Catch Shares, we can lease Red Snapper and not throw back dead fish. When we lease the quota from the shareholder, he cannot fish it, so the total catch stays the same while waste goes down. 

This waste reduction is not possible with the old systems of special licenses, bag limits, seasonal closures, or any other system in use. Waste is bad for fishing, and fishermen do not want to waste fish. 

Catch Shares is providing outstanding science in the Gulf Grouper fishery. Catch Shares provide precise, real time data on catches, which area they came from, what time of year, what gear type, and what the market value was. The old system could only provide imprecise, incomplete, uncertain, and aged data. The very high reliability and timeliness of this information will enable more precise management in the future. 

Catch Shares have made the Gulf Grouper fishery one of the best managed in the world. This is a real credit to our council system and our regional management. Fisheries Regulators know precisely in real time how many and what kind of fish the commercial sector is catching. They know without a doubt that fishermen cannot overfish the allowable catch of any species in the Catch Share program. They know where the fish are caught and when, and have the most precise science possible as a result of the features of this program.  

With the Vessel Monitoring Systems employed in the Catch Share program there is a very high assurance that fishery laws are followed. Vessel Monitoring provides the best possible and lowest cost enforcement opportunities and gives fisherman proof that they follow the law. 
 

In summary, we know that the Catch Share program is right for the Grouper fishery and the future is better because of it.

Thanks again for your efforts to keep our country great! Please contact us at any time if we can help in any way. 

Sincerely, 
 
 
 
 
 

Gulf Fisherman’s Association

Glen Brooks, President 

Directors:  
 

Dean Pruitt 
 

Jason Delacruz     
 

Brad Kenyon      
 

John Schmidt  
 

Jim Clements