Catch Share FAQs

Do Catch Shares Bring Back Fish Populations?
They do. A study of over 11,000 fisheries found that catch shares prevent – and even reverse – the collapse of the world's fisheries. If you want abundant fish in the ocean, catch shares are the best choice.

What Do Catch Shares Mean for Fishing Jobs and Fishing Fleets?
Catch shares are key to making sure we have commercial fishing jobs in the future. Scientists can only say for sure that about 25% of fish stock in the U.S. are sustainable and fishing jobs depend on abundant stocks.

What Do Catch Shares Mean for Fishing Communities?
Catch shares can be designed to address the specific issues faced by each community, and each fish stock. And they can be designed to make sure fishing communities prosper and thrive.

Do Catch Shares Ensure That Our Fishing Heritage Still Belongs to All Americans?
Yes. Like a driver's license lets you drive on American roads or a hunting license lets you hunt game in American forests, catch shares give you the privilege to access America's fishing resources.

Will New Participants Be Able to Get Catch Shares?
Yes. Catch shares can be – and are being – designed to make sure the next generation of fishermen will be able to enter the fishery in the coming years.

What Do Catch Shares Mean for Private Saltwater Anglers?
New accountability management tools are certainly needed for private anglers to insure that overall harvest levels are not exceeded, but the tools need to differ from those used for commercial fishermen like catch shares.

Posted: 09-Dec-2009; Updated: 28-Oct-2009