Statement

Nov. 2, 2011:  For nearly a decade, NOAA Fisheries, the trawl fleet, the Pacific Fishery Management Council, and the states have worked together to achieve our common goal of healthy, sustainable fisheries and fishing communities. Thanks to this strong partnership and shared commitment, we are turning the corner in ending overfishing and rebuilding stocks. An important result of this collaboration is the implementation of trawl rationalization for West Coast groundfish. It took a strong partnership to get us to this point. NOAA Fisheries is committed to continue this success with the Council's support.

This year's implementation of the West Coast Groundfish Trawl Catch Share Program, which included 100% monitoring on vessels and at first receivers, was a strong and effective move to preserve the economic potential of the fishery. Preliminary results indicate a strong performance by the fishery this year. After a slow start early in the year, landings have steadily increased, to the point that both landings and revenue during June of this year were higher than last year, and even higher than the historical average for June.

Encouragingly, revenues per vessel are also up substantially. These positive economic trends for fishermen are even more remarkable because they are accompanied by a vast reduction of discarded catch. On average about 99 percent of what's caught is now being retained. That's an extremely positive result for fishery management and conservation.

We are cautious in reaching hard and fast conclusions on these partial year results, but we are encouraged. We know behavior in this first year may not predict future results. Fishermen went crabbing much longer than usual, the shrimp season was better than past years, and many fishermen were cautious because of the uncertainty of the first year of the new program.

Last year NOAA Fisheries reimbursed most of the monitoring costs for fishermen and first receivers. Emerging economic data suggests that the industry is not yet ready to absorb these monitoring costs. While revenues are up for some vessels, profitability remains low. A smooth transition may take longer than one year and reduced funding for reimbursement may have a negative economic impact  in these first years of the program, especially for small vessels in the fishery.

Therefore, we are planning to maintain our current level of financial support for monitoring in 2012, subject to appropriations. At the same time, we must also recognize that this high level of Federal support is not a permanent solution and we must therefore use this time to transition to a more durable solution. I encourage all of us in the Council community to continue exploring longer-term solutions, including innovative costs reductions such as electronic monitoring.

With our ongoing partnership and commitment to science-based management, we will enhance the stability and sustainability of our fisheries today and for future generations.