How can you use the Manual to design an effective catch share?

This Design Manual is intended to help you – whether you are a manager, a fisherman, a scientist or another interested party – design successful catch share programs. Specifically, it guides you through the design process Step-by-Step, and discusses various design elements in detail, including how they may address biological, economic and social goals.

The Design Manual should be used in conjunction with additional research, analysis and consultation of experts in order to design the most appropriate catch share program for your fishery.

The guide generally assumes some basic goals: You want what successful catch shares can achieve – long-term sustainability of fish stocks, maximization of the social and economic value created by the sustainable use of the fishery, and joint stewardship by fishermen and managers. Or, put simply, you want to achieve sustainable, stable and profitable fisheries.

For many fisheries, this requires a big change. Therefore, it is important to clearly define your specific management goals for the fishery at the onset of the catch share design process. Because catch shares are customizable with many design options, the process should proceed thoughtfully, and implementation should be adaptive, with regular reviews to ensure achievement of those goals.

Decades of experience from around the world illuminate how good design and accompanying tools can address existing challenges and maximize potential benefits. This Design Manual draws on that global expertise to create a seven-step process to catch share design.

1. Define Program Goals


2. Define and Quantify the Available Resource


3. Define Eligible Participants


4. Define the Privilege


5. Assign the Privilege


6. Develop Administrative Systems


7. Assess Performance and Innovate

Each Step is a critical component of catch share design; the Design Manual sequences these Steps to ensure decisions flow logically, when possible. Use it as a roadmap for the process and as a reference for specific ideas and examples.

There are a number of recurring tools throughout each of the seven Steps to help you navigate:

• At a Glance – Each Step includes a page summary that you can use for quick reference.


• SEASALT Tracking – At the beginning of every Step, the SEASALT icon appears and highlights which key attributes of a catch share you will address by completing the Step in question.


• Sub-Steps – Each Step is organized by a series of key design questions or sub-Steps. Each of these includes a discussion of various design options and may include additional considerations or trade-offs.


• Principles – Some sub-Steps highlight important, noteworthy design recommendations as key principles.


• Special Features – Each Step includes one or more special features including detailed tables, figures, and/or spotlights on relevant existing catch share programs.


• Step in Practice – A table at the end of each Step briefly summarizes and compares the design decisions for each of the case study fisheries.

The Design Manual also includes Catch Shares in Practice – four in-depth case studies¹ on fisheries that have implemented catch shares:

• Alaska Halibut and Sablefish Fixed Gear Individual Fishing Quota Program


• British Columbia Integrated Groundfish Program


• Chilean National Benthic Resource Territorial Use Rights for Fishing Programme


• Danish Pelagic and Demersal Individual Transferable Quota Programs

The case studies accompany the Steps to provide comprehensive, real-life examples of the design decisions in action. These narrative case studies include histories of the fisheries, performance under the catch share programs and key design decisions made for each of the Steps.

Embedded at the end of each Step is a table that succinctly summarizes the design choices for each of the four case studies, thereby providing an opportunity to quickly compare the programs.