I spent two days in Naragansett at the GF Sector Management workshop. As a word to the wise, this movement has gained a tremendous head of steam and is likely to be forced down our throats regardless of what is and isn't known about it. There are only two active sectors on the East coast, but "applications" for 17 (or 19, I forget which) additional in front of the New England Council.
Amazingly - to me, at least - people were talking seriously about recreational fishing sectors as well.
From what I understand, sectors would provide limited benefits (a sector could catch its allocated quota when/how it wished), with a whole bunch of downside including increased bureaucracy, increased industry cost, increased shared liability, a lot of displacement of effort and the antis perhaps able to own "conservation" quota.
Keep your eyes on this one, folks, 'cause it could impact us all, and very possibly not in many ways that any of us would appreciate. And you won't have to be in the groundfish fishery to feel the impacts.
This post edited by NilsS 04:24 PM 01/18/2008
Amazingly - to me, at least - people were talking seriously about recreational fishing sectors as well.
From what I understand, sectors would provide limited benefits (a sector could catch its allocated quota when/how it wished), with a whole bunch of downside including increased bureaucracy, increased industry cost, increased shared liability, a lot of displacement of effort and the antis perhaps able to own "conservation" quota.
Keep your eyes on this one, folks, 'cause it could impact us all, and very possibly not in many ways that any of us would appreciate. And you won't have to be in the groundfish fishery to feel the impacts.
This post edited by NilsS 04:24 PM 01/18/2008
