Alaska halibut and sablefish fixed gear IFQ program

Special design features

The Alaska Halibut and Sablefish Fixed Gear Individual Fishing Quota Program (IFQ Program) was one of the first to include a variety of design elements to meet key social goals while also contributing to decreasing overcapitalization and increasing the value of the fishery. Some of the key design elements include low concentration limits, restrictions on trading, strict shareholder eligibility requirements and more.

The program also allocates a percentage of the shares to the Community Development Quota (CDQ) program, which includes 65 eligible communities organized into six groups and was designed to ensure fishing access, support economic development, alleviate poverty, and provide economic and social benefits to residents of western Alaska communities (North Pacific Fishery Management Council, n.d, A).

Synopsis

In 1995, managers implemented an IFQ Program for the Alaska halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) and sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) fixed gear fishery. The IFQ Program has received significant attention as it was among the first catch share program to design for explicit social goals in addition to biological and economic goals. Fifteen years after implementation, the catch share program is meeting its goals.

The fishery occurs in federal waters off Alaska in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska. Fishermen use fixed gear vessels ranging in length from less than 35 feet to over 60 feet, including longline catcher vessels, catcher-processor vessels, and fishermen targeting sablefish using pots. In 2008, fishermen landed approximately 74 million pounds worth $245 million (NOAA Fisheries Service, 2009f.

The fishery is managed by the National Marine Fishery Service (NMFS), with consultation by the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, and the International Pacific Halibut Commission, which sets the catch limit and coordinates the management of the Pacific halibut fish stocks for Canada and the U.S. (Hartley and Fina, 2001).