In the Florida Keys, we now have Individual Fishing Quotas in the Red Snapper and Grouper industry, and the federal fishing bureaucracy is proceeding forward in virtually all of the remaining fisheries. Supposedly under some mandate from the Magnuson-Stevens Act, our governing elite declares that IFQ’s are working very successfully, and provide the ultimate answer for commercial fishing regulation. According to them, IFQ’s are good for the fishermen, and once they are all implemented, life will be wonderful.
No longer will fishermen have to endure the ‘gold rush mentality’ (competition) for filling the quota. No longer will they be at the mercy of the greedy fish house owners (capitalists) who cut their price every time there is a big supply of fish on the market. No longer will fishermen be forced to go out in bad weather (eliminate risk), and best of all, they won’t have to worry about someone else catching more than their ‘fair share’ of the quota. (income limitation)
Yes. In one tidy little package, regulators are able to control the things they dislike the most – competition, risk, capitalism, and the specter of uneducated fishermen having a higher income than degree bearing bureaucrats. With tracking devices already installed in some fisheries, and video monitoring on the horizon, only price will be out of their control. (but – to be sure – not for long)
So. Is anything they are saying true, or, are we dealing with more bureaucratic propaganda – useful only to get their programs in place? Well, as with everything that emanates from the bureaucracy, the laptop fishing program is far tidier than the harsh reality of life on the ocean. The certainty with which they pronounce the wonders of their programs, and the apparent sincerity of their beliefs, often leave our industry confused and not knowing how to deal with the misinformation. It’s like our elected leaders telling us that government run health care is going to save us money, and give us better care. We know it’s not true. Yet they sell us on the amazing program with such practiced sincerity, that we are reluctant to just call it a lie.
With our own fishing bureaucracy, it’s always what they don’t tell us, that gets us in the end. Fishery managers spend 40 hours a week dealing with rules that directly affect our lives, while fishermen must try to scratch out a little time between fishing trips just to become aware of the issues. Unlike the average fisherman, regulators understand the long term implications of each new rule, and the supposedly ‘unintended consequences’ of new regulations, are not always so unintended. IFQ’s are simply part of an unwritten agenda that has previously been little recognized by those of us in the industry, and a perfect example of how people are misled by the glowing reports of a new program.
When fishery managers set a yearly species quota, and tell fishermen to have at it, they say there is a crisis of ‘gold rush mentality’ when the quota is filled too quickly. You and I would conclude there must be plenty of fish, and the quota should be expanded, but fishery managers only think of how they could extend the life of the current quota with IFQ’s. The real goal, is to limit the income of fishermen, by eliminating competition. Competition is the fuel for the American economic engine, but it has no place in the bureaucracy.
Fish only when the price is high! Does anything point out more clearly how little fishery managers actually know about the realities of catching fish? In their program driven world, you give someone a license, send them to the Dry Tortugas, and they will fill the boat with fish. My! My! But don’t real fishermen only wish it was that easy?
When laptop programs can accurately account for wind, tide, moon, water temperature, El Nino, hurricanes, cold fronts, missing mates, engine failures, marine life cycles, fresh water run-off, algae blooms, fish kills, and regulatory obstacles, we might then believe we can fish only when the price is high. It takes years of experience to even begin to understand the variables, and no fisherman alive is going to pass up an opportunity to catch the fish whenever they are biting.
Get out from under the thumb of the fish houses! Almost every fisherman has at one time or another complained about the fish house, but for most it is their place of business, and their second home. It is the central location where they can dock their boat, rest, take on bait, fuel and ice, make repairs, store gear, stay updated on regulatory issues, and socialize.
The fish house is also the place where the catch is sold, and nothing is more contentious than price. As individual businessmen, each fisherman is naturally trying to get a high price for his hard earned catch. Fishermen understand that price fluctuates directly with supply and demand, but a consumer who is pleased by a low price, is not much satisfaction to a man who has been pounded for a week by 20 knot winds. Fishery managers do not understand the complex relationship, and govern as if fish houses are expendable, and fishermen would be better off without them.
Go only when the weather is good! Here we have another example of bureaucrats not dealing with the realities of commercial fishing. Fishermen go when the fish are biting, or the lobster are crawling. Especially with an individual quota having a yearly time limit, no fisherman is going to pass up an opportunity to catch when he can. Yes, there are conditions in which it becomes impossible to work, but the prospect of not filling an IFQ can force a man to fish in weather that would normally keep him at the dock.
While I’m sure all fishermen appreciate the concern for their safety, our fishery regulators need not worry. What seems risky to office workers, is simply another day on the job for commercial fishermen. Indeed, a fisherman in 10’ seas is probably safer and more comfortable, than a bureaucrat in a meeting room full of angry fishermen. So thanks for the concern, but fishermen will be just fine.
No one will be able to catch more than their fair share of the quota. Here we have the nationwide bureaucratic agenda in a nutshell: income limitation. Nothing is closer to the heart of big government than the equalization of income. Fishermen who work too hard, are too ambitious, invest in bigger, faster boats, develop new gear and fishing methods, and catch the most, must be brought under control.
In commercial fishing, the ultimate control of a fisherman is in limiting his catch. With an IFQ, a fisherman may work as hard as he wants, but when his quota is filled, he must stop. A fisherman who has received a substantial allocation of Red Snapper or Grouper, may temporarily feel lucky as he fills his quota and moves on to another fishery. However, when regulators implement IFQ’s in every fishery, a fisherman’s catch will be limited everywhere, and he may never catch more than his allocation, but can always end up with less.
In the Florida Keys, the only consistent thing about fish production, is its inconsistency. A top lobster fisherman – without regard for hurricanes, breakdowns, or illness – may catch 60,000 lbs one year, and 25,000 lbs the next. A Yellowtail boat may drop from 40,000 lbs/year, to 20,000 lbs, due to the Gulfstream, El Nino, fresh water run-off, or little understood natural cycles in fish populations. With IFQ’s, there is no carry over on uncaught allocations, and never a chance to make up for a poor season.
Trying to explain all the implications of IFQ’s is an endless job. Suffice to say that once the bureaucracy started controlling our businesses, instead of managing the stocks, virtually everything they have done has been bad for the long term viability of our industry. However, the worst aspect of doling out allocations to individuals, is the exclusionary factor. Arbitrary vesting periods are picked by fishery managers, and the lucky fishermen who had the large catches in those years, are favored with the bulk of the quota, while all the rest are just ‘out of luck’.
IFQ’s are so contrary to the American ethic of ‘working hard to get ahead’, that every part of the program is unfair, but what could be worse than the exclusion of our youth. Since the beginning of the ‘effort limitation’ agenda, it has become almost impossible for a young person to get started in commercial fishing. The prohibitive cost of entry, the uncertainty of the future, and the impossible number of regulatory hoops to be jumped through, have already given us an entire missing generation of Keys fishermen.
Once implemented, IFQ’s will mean the end of our small boat fishery. For the sustainability of our traditional fisheries, it matters little if some Keys fishermen are the beneficiaries of government largesse with lobster, Kingfish, Yellowtail, and Stone Crab IFQ’s. The future will find our youth excluded, and production consolidated into the hands of a few large producers. There should be no place in our fisheries – or our country – for such anti capitalist initiatives as IFQ’s. We must do everything we can to prevent their implementation. If we can’t stop them, they will surely stop us!
Next: IFQ’s – Final Word
IFQ’s – The Reality
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 Posted in Commentary, Industry
In the Florida Keys, we now have Individual Fishing Quotas in the Red Snapper and Grouper industry, and the federal fishing bureaucracy is proceeding forward in virtually all of the remaining fisheries. Supposedly under some mandate from the Magnuson-Stevens Act, our governing elite declares that IFQ’s are working very successfully, and provide the ultimate answer for commercial fishing regulation. According to them, IFQ’s are good for the fishermen, and once they are all implemented, life will be wonderful.
No longer will fishermen have to endure the ‘gold rush mentality’ (competition) for filling the quota. No longer will they be at the mercy of the greedy fish house owners (capitalists) who cut their price every time there is a big supply of fish on the market. No longer will fishermen be forced to go out in bad weather (eliminate risk), and best of all, they won’t have to worry about someone else catching more than their ‘fair share’ of the quota. (income limitation)
Yes. In one tidy little package, regulators are able to control the things they dislike the most – competition, risk, capitalism, and the specter of uneducated fishermen having a higher income than degree bearing bureaucrats. With tracking devices already installed in some fisheries, and video monitoring on the horizon, only price will be out of their control. (but – to be sure – not for long)
So. Is anything they are saying true, or, are we dealing with more bureaucratic propaganda – useful only to get their programs in place? Well, as with everything that emanates from the bureaucracy, the laptop fishing program is far tidier than the harsh reality of life on the ocean. The certainty with which they pronounce the wonders of their programs, and the apparent sincerity of their beliefs, often leave our industry confused and not knowing how to deal with the misinformation. It’s like our elected leaders telling us that government run health care is going to save us money, and give us better care. We know it’s not true. Yet they sell us on the amazing program with such practiced sincerity, that we are reluctant to just call it a lie.
With our own fishing bureaucracy, it’s always what they don’t tell us, that gets us in the end. Fishery managers spend 40 hours a week dealing with rules that directly affect our lives, while fishermen must try to scratch out a little time between fishing trips just to become aware of the issues. Unlike the average fisherman, regulators understand the long term implications of each new rule, and the supposedly ‘unintended consequences’ of new regulations, are not always so unintended. IFQ’s are simply part of an unwritten agenda that has previously been little recognized by those of us in the industry, and a perfect example of how people are misled by the glowing reports of a new program.
When fishery managers set a yearly species quota, and tell fishermen to have at it, they say there is a crisis of ‘gold rush mentality’ when the quota is filled too quickly. You and I would conclude there must be plenty of fish, and the quota should be expanded, but fishery managers only think of how they could extend the life of the current quota with IFQ’s. The real goal, is to limit the income of fishermen, by eliminating competition. Competition is the fuel for the American economic engine, but it has no place in the bureaucracy.
Fish only when the price is high! Does anything point out more clearly how little fishery managers actually know about the realities of catching fish? In their program driven world, you give someone a license, send them to the Dry Tortugas, and they will fill the boat with fish. My! My! But don’t real fishermen only wish it was that easy?
When laptop programs can accurately account for wind, tide, moon, water temperature, El Nino, hurricanes, cold fronts, missing mates, engine failures, marine life cycles, fresh water run-off, algae blooms, fish kills, and regulatory obstacles, we might then believe we can fish only when the price is high. It takes years of experience to even begin to understand the variables, and no fisherman alive is going to pass up an opportunity to catch the fish whenever they are biting.
Get out from under the thumb of the fish houses! Almost every fisherman has at one time or another complained about the fish house, but for most it is their place of business, and their second home. It is the central location where they can dock their boat, rest, take on bait, fuel and ice, make repairs, store gear, stay updated on regulatory issues, and socialize.
The fish house is also the place where the catch is sold, and nothing is more contentious than price. As individual businessmen, each fisherman is naturally trying to get a high price for his hard earned catch. Fishermen understand that price fluctuates directly with supply and demand, but a consumer who is pleased by a low price, is not much satisfaction to a man who has been pounded for a week by 20 knot winds. Fishery managers do not understand the complex relationship, and govern as if fish houses are expendable, and fishermen would be better off without them.
Go only when the weather is good! Here we have another example of bureaucrats not dealing with the realities of commercial fishing. Fishermen go when the fish are biting, or the lobster are crawling. Especially with an individual quota having a yearly time limit, no fisherman is going to pass up an opportunity to catch when he can. Yes, there are conditions in which it becomes impossible to work, but the prospect of not filling an IFQ can force a man to fish in weather that would normally keep him at the dock.
While I’m sure all fishermen appreciate the concern for their safety, our fishery regulators need not worry. What seems risky to office workers, is simply another day on the job for commercial fishermen. Indeed, a fisherman in 10’ seas is probably safer and more comfortable, than a bureaucrat in a meeting room full of angry fishermen. So thanks for the concern, but fishermen will be just fine.
No one will be able to catch more than their fair share of the quota. Here we have the nationwide bureaucratic agenda in a nutshell: income limitation. Nothing is closer to the heart of big government than the equalization of income. Fishermen who work too hard, are too ambitious, invest in bigger, faster boats, develop new gear and fishing methods, and catch the most, must be brought under control.
In commercial fishing, the ultimate control of a fisherman is in limiting his catch. With an IFQ, a fisherman may work as hard as he wants, but when his quota is filled, he must stop. A fisherman who has received a substantial allocation of Red Snapper or Grouper, may temporarily feel lucky as he fills his quota and moves on to another fishery. However, when regulators implement IFQ’s in every fishery, a fisherman’s catch will be limited everywhere, and he may never catch more than his allocation, but can always end up with less.
In the Florida Keys, the only consistent thing about fish production, is its inconsistency. A top lobster fisherman – without regard for hurricanes, breakdowns, or illness – may catch 60,000 lbs one year, and 25,000 lbs the next. A Yellowtail boat may drop from 40,000 lbs/year, to 20,000 lbs, due to the Gulfstream, El Nino, fresh water run-off, or little understood natural cycles in fish populations. With IFQ’s, there is no carry over on uncaught allocations, and never a chance to make up for a poor season.
Trying to explain all the implications of IFQ’s is an endless job. Suffice to say that once the bureaucracy started controlling our businesses, instead of managing the stocks, virtually everything they have done has been bad for the long term viability of our industry. However, the worst aspect of doling out allocations to individuals, is the exclusionary factor. Arbitrary vesting periods are picked by fishery managers, and the lucky fishermen who had the large catches in those years, are favored with the bulk of the quota, while all the rest are just ‘out of luck’.
IFQ’s are so contrary to the American ethic of ‘working hard to get ahead’, that every part of the program is unfair, but what could be worse than the exclusion of our youth. Since the beginning of the ‘effort limitation’ agenda, it has become almost impossible for a young person to get started in commercial fishing. The prohibitive cost of entry, the uncertainty of the future, and the impossible number of regulatory hoops to be jumped through, have already given us an entire missing generation of Keys fishermen.
Once implemented, IFQ’s will mean the end of our small boat fishery. For the sustainability of our traditional fisheries, it matters little if some Keys fishermen are the beneficiaries of government largesse with lobster, Kingfish, Yellowtail, and Stone Crab IFQ’s. The future will find our youth excluded, and production consolidated into the hands of a few large producers. There should be no place in our fisheries – or our country – for such anti capitalist initiatives as IFQ’s. We must do everything we can to prevent their implementation. If we can’t stop them, they will surely stop us!
Next: IFQ’s – Final Word