Bluefin Tuna Bycatch

Herring fisherman releases a dead bluefin tuna netted out of season. And I thought throwing back floating canaries is a waste. At lease some shark is going to eat well.

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/35188/along+with+monstrous+tuna+fisherman+sees+giant+payday+slip+away/

I wish there would be some better use of by-catch. Perhaps a nominal price paid to the boat with the remainder of the actual sale price going to a fund for species propagation? I realize you don't want the boats to "accidentally target" out of season fish....but there has to be a better use of the resources

so sad...

I once heard a story of a local around here who was commercial fishing with his dad in the early 80's - bottom trawling.  They incidentally brought up about 500 salmon in their net, and of course they were supposed to be thrown overboard (dead...).  He went on to say that they ate salmon all winter, and so did lots of their neighbors and relatives.  Can't really blame them for taking the risk of smuggling it ashore and eating it.  What a sad waste by-catch is.

Too bad it couldn't have been brought in, kept and he would have paid a fine of say 100k.  That way fish and game and he would win.


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If it sold for 500k


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I don't think there should be a financial incentive for prohibited bycatch.  It bothers me that such a fish should go to waste, but I do not see another alternative.

This is where the quota based fisheries managers would jump in ...

Each fishing boat has a quota for all fish that may be encountered.  If a boat exceeds quota on any given species, they need to either quit fishing, or buy up unused quota from another boat, or get heavily fined.

This does a couple things.  First, it encourages fishermen to be extra careful in not having bycatch of a given species if they have quota issues.  Second, if they do encounter a quota issue, there is a very real free market opportunity that still exists.

-Allen

Yeah but the unused quota share becomes a commodity and boats intentionally target the prohibited species to fill purchased quota shares.  Theoretically (and in reality I'm sure), I could have my own fishery if I just bought out a reasonable ammount of bycatch shares. 

Let the gulls and lobstah have a free meal....none of it will go to waste.


   

Yeah but the unused quota share becomes a commodity and boats intentionally target the prohibited species to fill purchased quota shares.  Theoretically (and in reality I'm sure), I could have my own fishery if I just bought out a reasonable ammount of bycatch shares. 

Let the gulls and lobstah have a free meal....none of it will go to waste.


 

This

Yeah but the unused quota share becomes a commodity and boats intentionally target the prohibited species to fill purchased quota shares.  Theoretically (and in reality I'm sure), I could have my own fishery if I just bought out a reasonable ammount of bycatch shares. 

Let the gulls and lobstah have a free meal....none of it will go to waste.


 

The quota can't be more than the stock could handle.  So who cares if someone buys up all the quota?  Not, what happens if the quota has been filled or is zero to begin with.  Stiff fines for landing an unintentional species.

-Allen

Yeah but the unused quota share becomes a commodity and boats intentionally target the prohibited species to fill purchased quota shares.  Theoretically (and in reality I'm sure), I could have my own fishery if I just bought out a reasonable ammount of bycatch shares. 

Let the gulls and lobstah have a free meal....none of it will go to waste.


 

 So who cares if someone buys up all the quota?  Not, what happens if the quota has been filled or is zero to begin with.  Stiff fines for landing an unintentional species.

-Allen

Other Commercial Fisherman? There's plenty that don't like the share system.     

I gotta assume the regular season and catch shares are set for a reason, one guy buys up enough and he creates a cottage industry while the season is closed. Completely buying his way around restrictions (why are they seasonal fisheries to begin with?). This is how the mbaq gets their sharks for display except the fish are retained under the guise of scientific research.  From what I've read the "bycatch" was "bycatch" but not incidental. Comm. fisherman are also alotted bycatch for black sea bass, and they are readily available in socal markets (not mex caught fish either)....another case of un-incidental incidental bycatch......with a payday.

I also imagine that any bycatch alotment for an off-season fish will reduce the alotted quotas for in-season resulting in less fish all around. 

I don't know what the actual bycatch rate is but people are gonna be people. There's always gonna be folks trying to skirt around the rules to make a buck.     

BTW, I don't support catch shares, just presenting an angle.

I think the principles of catch shares (reward/penalty) could be extended to cover the scenarios you outline.

-Allen

I'm not good on the terminology, but maybe this tuna (bycatch?) and other accidentally caught fish should be allowed to be given to Fish and Game for research or, if any profits are made from selling it, to fund research or the fishery.  Zero profit for the fishermen but at least this fish conservatively worth 100k isn't lobster food. 

Maybe I'm ill informed, but what really bothers me about bycatch is it's seeming inevitability. Especially with fishing practices that employ bottom trawling and or the curtaining of wide swaths of ocean. Seems to me that the oceans supply does not meet the worlds demand and commercial fisherman are just middleman making a profit from an unsustainable practice.