Eastbayri.com

Imagine you’re a fish manager. Your job is to manage the fish resource. If fish are plentiful and regulations are too tight, the resource may be over-regulated as it’s not being used at its maximum sustainable level. This makes fishermen furious and understandably so, because this is the way they make a living. Often times, it is the way their father, uncles and grandfathers made their living, too.

On the flip side, if a species is overfished, if it’s on the decline or beyond sustainable levels, you’re in real trouble. There may be too many boats fishing for too few fish, or the science/data you were given to calculate the number of fish that can be taken was bad. It’s likely a combination of reasons why the species is on the decline and you have to figure it out because fishermen, the community and most of all, the fish resource itself, are counting on you.

Managing fish is a difficult and often times a thankless job. However, I am happy to relate that here in Rhode Island we are in good hands. The state Department of Environmental Management (DEM) led by Janet Coit and her dedicated Marine Fisheries Divisions team along with the help of marine scientist at the University of Rhode Island (URI), do a good job of managing our fish resources here in the Ocean State.

The complexity of fisheries management and the professionalism of our fish managers were evident last Friday at the R.I. Commercial Fluke Symposium at the Crown Plaza in Warwick. The day-long symposium tackled the issue of commercially harvested summer flounder (or fluke) and the fisheries capacity to provide long-term, sustainable harvest opportunities. The symposium was sponsored by the University of Rhode Island in collaboration with DEM and the Rhode Island commercial fishing community. Fishermen, fish scientists and fish managers/regulators were all in the same room, talking about a very controversial topic: How do we manage commercially harvested fluke or summer flounder?

One quota-based management experiment discussed was the experimental R.I. Fluke Sector Pilot program, which completed its third year a month ago. State fishing regulators must now decide whether or not to allow it to continue in some form. With the pilot program, annual catch limits were put into place to prevent overfishing and to rebuild stocks rather than a limit on the amount of time (often days) spent fishing. The idea was to allow fishermen the option of controlling fishing effort.

Participants in the pilot sector fished an allocated share of the total allowed catch, where as non-sector fishermen fished individually with a limit on the amount of fish and time spent fishing. Fishing in groups with a total allowable catch offers flexibility when market prices are at their highest or when certain fish are available and other species are not.

Jason McNamee, marine biologist for DEM, shared the performance of pilot sector boats compared to non-sector boats. The results were clear: The pilot project was a success. The fish discards of undersized fish from pilot sector boats was about 3 to 4 pounds, verses 30 pounds for non-sector boats. Additionally, sector boats did not decrease catches from non-sector boats, but actually increased the haul for all vessels because the market was not flooded with too many fish of the same species at the same time. The sector proved to be an effective way to sustain the resource, enhance fisheries and reduce discards to record low levels.

The R.I. Pilot Fluke Sector grew over its three-year history as new members saw the benefits of flexibility. A highlight at the symposium was an April 2011 paper presented by Chris Anderson, former professor of environmental and natural resource economics at URI (he’s now at the University of Washington). “The (pilot) sector shifted fluke landings to times when they could maximize price. Comparing revenues ... we find the sector program increased fleet-wide (12 boats in the fleet at this time) revenues over $800,000, including benefits of over $250,000 to non-sector vessels.”

Market not flooded

So, the pilot sector enhanced revenue for its 12 members, but also incurred enhanced revenue for non-sector vessels by spreading available fish over an extended amount of time rather that flooding the market at once and reducing market value.

Both Dr. Anderson and Jason McNamee said the pilot program also had a positive impact on fishing for other species. When pilot boats fished for fluke, non-sector boats were fishing for other species and reportedly getting higher prices for them.

Fishermen share concerns

Fishermen at the symposium said they were concerned about overarching issues that are challenges for the fishing industry as a whole. One key issue discussed was providing a way for new entrants into the business.

“I am worried about my son,” said Jason Jarvis, who has fished for over 25 years. “He wants to fish. If the industry continues on this path, he will not be able to buy his way into the business.”

Dick Grachek from Mystic, Conn., who used to fish but still owns a fishing vessel out of Point Judith said, “My boat and license use to be worth $500,000. Now it’s worth about $100,000. This is very sad.”

Al Conti, owner of Snug Harbor Marina in South Kingstown, summed up the discussion of what new regulations should do. “We should abide by two guiding principles as we develop management regulations. First, we have to gain maximum economic value from the fishery (making sure it remains sustainable). And second, we need quotas to be equitable for all user groups,” he said.

The input obtained at the symposium will be used by Ms. Coit and her department to develop proposals and regulations for the 2012 commercial fluke fishery. We should know what direction regulation proposals are going in within the next six to eight weeks.

Capt. Dave Monti has been fishing and shellfishing on Narragansett Bay for more than 40 years. He holds a captain’s master license and a charter fishing license. Your fishing photos in jpeg form, stories, comments and questions are welcome. Visit Capt. Dave’s No Fluke website at www.noflukefishing.com or e-mail him at dmontifish@verizon.net.