| On
Jan. 1, 2007, after nearly two decades of stock assessments,
a license moratorium, fishery management plans with multiple
amendments, seasonal closures and much socio-economic distress,
the Gulf of Mexico red snapper commercial fishery will reach
its final stage – privatization. By definition, privatization
is the transfer to private ownership of an economic enterprise
or public resource that has been under government ownership.
Many changes will become effective in January, which will
make the fishery more economically stable and will offer
some security to shareholders.
To date, there are 139 Class I and 630 Class II red snapper
permit holders in the Gulf of Mexico. Class I permit holders
were allowed to land 2,000 lbs. per trip during open seasons
while Class II permit holders were allowed to land 200 lbs.
per trip. Under the new rule, there will be no classifications.
The
commercial quota (2.55 million lbs for 2007) will be allocated
to current permit holders based on share averages taken
from historical landings. A share is the percentage of the
total quota that each shareholder will be allotted. An allocation
is the annual poundage that each shareholder is allotted
in January of each year. Shares and allocations may be sold
among permit holders in good standing.
The
minimum allowable share sale will be .0001 percent, which
in 2007 equates to 2.5 lbs. A person with an allocation
can harvest fish at any time during the year. There is no
use it or lose it clause, the share (percentage) will not
change unless sold. However, any unused annual allocation
is lost if not harvested by Dec. 31.
In order to prevent anyone from controlling a monopoly in
the fishery, no person or corporation will be allowed to
own shares exceeding the maximum share issued to any one
person for the 2007 fishing year.
The
fishery will be totally managed electronically via the Internet,
cell phone and phone lines. Each shareholder and dealer
will have a computerized account set up in his/her name.
A PIN and password will be required to access the account.
At the time of sale, a shareholder’s allocation will
be debited instantaneously. Even share and allocation sales
will be real-time.
Each vessel participating in the red snapper fishery will
be required to have a vessel monitoring system (VMS) onboard
and operational at all times. The VMS operates via satellites
and gives the exact location of the vessel. Upon leaving
port, the captain of the vessel must hail the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) office and notify of fishing activity.
When returning to port to unload red snapper, the captain
must call NMFS within 3 to 12 hours of unloading.
During
the sale transaction, the dealer is required to collect
and remit to NMFS a 3 percent cost recovery fee on the value
of the red snapper landed. In order for red snapper to be
shipped from a dealer’s location, an approval code
must be given to the shipment listing its volume.
Once any problems with the system are ironed out, the Gulf
of Mexico red snapper fishery will be one of the most efficient,
economically stable and closely monitored fish harvests
in the Gulf.
Back
to Main |
