National Marine Fisheries Position on Individual Fishing Quotas By Penelope D. Dalton In testimony before Congress, National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) representatives have testified that we support availability of Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQ) as a management tool. NOAA Fisheries is more than willing to work with Congress to develop criteria for IFQ systems and on any legislative changes that may be needed for effective implementation of IFQs. NOAA Fisheries supports the major recommendation of the Congressionally mandated National Research Council 1999 study, Sharing the Fish, and its conclusion that "IFQs should be allowed as an option in fisheries management if a regional council finds them to be warranted by conditions within a particular fishery and appropriate measures are imposed to avoid potential adverse effects." The issues of initial allocations and consolidation of quota shares are important concerns that the Congress, NOAA Fisheries, and the Regional Fishery Management Councils (Councils) need to carefully address. Initial allocations of quota shares under new IFQs should be determined primarily and in first instance by the relevant Councils. In so doing, the Councils should give explicit consideration, within the context of the objectives of the management program under consideration, to the following questions: Who should receive initial allocations (including crew members, vessel owners, processors, local communities, and possibly other stakeholders), How much or what share of the total quota should they should receive, and Should quota holders pay a resource tax or fee to recover some or all of the economic rent? Councils should also address the issue of consolidation of quota shares through setting upper limits, or ceilings, on the accumulation of such shares by individual firms or corporations. NOAA Fisheries does not have an explicit position on which, if any, federally-managed fisheries are candidates for IFQ-based management, and leaves this issue to the Councils and the industry sectors that fall under its jurisdiction. If and when the 1996 moratorium on new IFQs lapses and the Councils show an affirmative interest in IFQs, NOAA Fisheries will work with the Councils and affected fisheries to help them design an IFQ system that meets the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Penelope D. Dalton is assistant administrator for fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

Contact us in writing at 308 Raymond Street, Ojai, California, 93023 or by email