Industry Perceptions of Measures to Affect Access to Quota Shares, Active Participation, and Lease Rates in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Fisheries

In 2010, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) completed a review of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Crab Rationalization Program. It highlighted social concerns that have emerged since the management change to catch shares. The central issues were the impact of high quota share lease rates on crew pay, difficulty for skippers and crew to purchase quota shares, and concerns about quota ownership by people or entities that do not have a financial stake in a vessel. The NPFMC initiated analyses on these issues and ultimately pursued a co-management approach with the fleet rather than a regulatory pathway. The crab cooperatives developed measures to address the NPFMC’s concerns, which were put in place in 2013. The measures include the Right of First Offer program that gives skippers and crew an initial opportunity to purchase quota shares and a voluntary lease rate cap for two of the eight crab fisheries. The Alaska Fisheries Science Center developed a study to gather perspectives on the cooperative measures from fishery participants. A total of 220 individuals across 6 participant categories shared their perspectives on efforts to increase access to quota shares, promote active participation, and cap quota share lease rates.