Defining Social & Economic Performance Measures For Catch Share Systems In The Northeast U.S.

1. Defining Social & Economic Performance Measures For Catch Share Systems In The Northeast U.S. Patricia M. Clay, Patricia Pinto da Silva, and Andrew Kitts Social Sciences Branch, NEFSC

2. Need for Performance Measures • Agency emphasis on catch share programs – socio-cultural and economic implications • Highly controversial in the Northeast U.S. – extensive press coverage • Management plan goals were specified with no formal process for review/evaluation • Managers and stakeholders need to know how well catch share programs perform – not just from a biological perspective • Know the issues, emulate successes, address failures

3. Defining Performance Measures • Step 1: Literature review • Step 2: Preliminary Social Science Branch plan – follow up after each subsequent step • Step 3: Northeast workshop – expert input • Step 4: National level NMFS workshop – coordination • Step 5: Northeast outreach • Step 6: Final Social Science Branch plan

4. Literature Review • U.S. fishery law and agency policy statements • Fishery management plan goals and objectives • Academic and NGO literature

5. MSA National Standards • Allocation fair and equitable (NS 4) • Promote efficiency (NS 5) • Minimize costs (NS 7) • Minimize impacts to fishing communities (NS 8) • Minimize bycatch (NS 9) • Promote Safety (NS 10)

6. MSA Limited Access Privilege Programs • Section 303A, Part (c) • LAPP must reduce capacity if over-capacity exists • LAPP must promote safety and social and economic benefits

7. MSA Limited Access Privilege Programs • Section 303A, Part (d)(5) • Promote the sustained participation of small owner-operated fishing vessels and fishing communities • Address excessive consolidation • Quota set-asides for entry-level and small vessel owner-operators, captains, crew, and fishing communities • No excessive shares

8. FMP Goals/Objectives • Groundfish Amendment 16 • Control capacity to achieve economic efficiency • Encourage diversity of the fishing fleet • Minimize adverse impacts on fishing communities and shoreside infrastructure • Promote stewardship • Minimize bycatch

9. FMP Goals/Objectives • Scallop Amendment 11 • Control capacity and mortality • Tilefish Amendment 1 • Prevent overcapitalization and limit new entrants to achieve OY • Surf clam/ocean quahog Amendment 8 • Economic efficiency • Control capacity • Simplifying management • Allow for regulatory flexibility and adaptation.

10. Academic and NGO Literature • Previous use of performance measures in fisheries • Economic and social theories of rights-based fisheries management • Case studies related to social and economic impacts of catch share programs

11. Indicators Grouped into Five Performance Measures • Financial Viability • Distributional Outcomes • Well-being • Governance • Stewardship

12. Financial Viability • Profitability and Productivity • Malmquist index • Capacity utilization • Revenue measures • Quota prices • Distribution of landings across time

13. Distributional Outcomes • Employment Trends • Crew hours and earnings • Crew duty changes • Opportunities for new entry • Ownership Trends • Industrial concentration (Gini/Herfindahl) • Geographic distribution • Ability to Purchase Additional Quota • Community Dependence

14. Well Being • Health Status/Insurance • Community Level Indicators • Crime, unemployment, education, conflict in general • Port Infrastructure • Job Satisfaction • Social Networks • Safety

15. Governance • Participation • Effectiveness • Transparency/Legitimacy • Conflict in Management • Adaptability/Flexibility • Management Costs • Management Complexity

16. Stewardship • Compliance (use enforcement statistics) • Bycatch/Discards/Highgrading • Conservation Ethic • Activities that Benefit the Stock

17. Northeast Outreach Efforts • Northeast Regional Office • New England Fishery Management Council • Fishermen’s workshop, Portsmouth, NH • Invited speaker series • Website (http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/read/socialsci/catchshares/) • Article in Commercial Fisheries News • Gulf of Maine Research Institute – targeted hard-to-reach stakeholders

18. The Social Capital Survey of Groundfish Permit Holders: Pinto da Silva & Holland • Spring 2010, 454 permit holders: 244 not in sectors, 56 in sectors, 242 not active in 2009 • High level of social capital: trust with information-sharing and financial dealings, involvement in the management process and cooperative research • Mixed sector member experiences re. level of involvement in sectors • High confidence in sector managers/members, in future ability to trade quota between sectors, in sector members keeping under limits • Low confidence in future financial viability, the management process, science

19. Projects in Process • Well-Being, Job Satisfaction & Environmental Ethic survey: Pollnac & Colburn: New England portion finishing up. Mid-Atlantic portion gearing up to begin. • GMRI Rapid Assessment of Crew in Northeast Groundfish Fishery: About to begin. • Revised NEFSC vessel operating cost survey: • Two new surveys -Vessel owner/operator/captain survey and Crew survey: draft surveys complete; final versions in progress • Social Indicators database: initial work begun

20. Report on Industry Response to Draft Performance Measures and Indicators for Catch Share Programs in New England • …a recurring frustration was expressed in our conversations about the fact that much of this socio-economic information is collected and then reported, but the evidence of its active insertion into the management process, efforts to make the Council and other managers aware of it, and degree of its impact in management decisions is sparse or non-existent. While we recognize that the Northeast Fisheries Science Center only provides data and does not make management decisions, we believe that outreach efforts could be increased to help mitigate this concern. Opportunities for this type of outreach might include “closing the loop” by providing the report back to participants, increasing reporting back to the Council, or making information more accessible for stakeholders to use in their own advocacy efforts.