Quantifying the Ecological Effects of Dedicated Access Fisheries Programs

Project Overview:
Tim Essington (University of Washington, WA, USA)
A common topic in fisheries management concerns whether fishing rights should be “privatized” by granting a few fishermen dedicated rights to a certain number of fish each year. This project synthesizes data on dedicated access fisheries across the globe in order to: (1) determine whether dedicated access fisheries programs lead to improved or deteriorated ecological conditions; and (2) identify what attributes of dedicated access programs, or of a fishery system itself, are most commonly associated with positive or negative impacts.
Lenfest Summaries:
Research Series Reports
application/pdf iconLenfest Research Series Report
December, 2009
application/pdf iconLenfest Research Series Report
October, 2011
application/pdf iconFishing Control Types Graphic
October, 2011
application/pdf iconCatch Shares Map
October, 2011
Publications and Reports:
Published Papers

Essington, T. 2010. Ecological indicators display reduced variation in North American catch share fisheries. Proceedings of the National Acadamy of Sciences 107:754-759.

PNAS paper
January, 2010

Branch, T. A. 2009. How do individual transferable quotas affect marine ecosystems? Fish and Fisheries 10(1): 39-57.

Fish and Fisheries paper (subscription needed)
March, 2009

Melnychuk, M.C., T.E. Essington, T.A. Branch, S.S. Heppell, O.P. Jensen, J.S. Link, S.J.D. Martell, A.M. Parma, J.G. Pope, and A.D.M. Smith. 2011. Can catch share fisheries better track management targets? Fish and Fisheries. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467–2979.2011.00429.x

Fish and Fisheries paper (subscription needed)
July, 2011
Video and Images:
An audio recording of Tim Essington talking about his catch shares project.
An audio recording of Tim Essington talking about his catch shares project.
Media:
Press Releases
New Study Finds Catch Shares Improve Consistency, Not Health, of Fisheries
Lenfest in the News
NatureNews article
Ecosystem Marketplace article