West coast observer program struggles with high costs: NMFS subsidy down to 50 percent

摘要

Into its third year, the West Coast Groundfish Trawl Catch Share Program has reduced bycatch and discard rates, but the cost of ensuring compliance is going up, and fishermen are paying increasing percentages of the bills. That's because fisheries observers — often biologists who log catch and discard activity on commercial trawl vessels — are required to be carried on 100 percent of fishing trips by vessels operating under federal Individual Fishing Quotas. Fishermen are responsible for contracting and paying for their observer coverage. The National Marine Fisheries Service, the agency supervising the program, is paying a subsidy, but it's diminishing. NMFS wants to phase out the subsidy entirely.