Increased Participation

Programs and initiatives intended to enhance the opportunities for all fishery sectors to responsibly participate in fisheries.

  • Work to reverse the decline in recreational fishing participation due to demographic shifts.
    • Educational outreach programs
      Recreational fishing in the millennial generation is much less than prior generations and is not replacing those who are “retiring” from recreational fishing. The Center could implement educational programs to encourage responsible recreational fishing. It is our belief that recreational fishermen practicing responsible fishing will and do go on to be more responsible if they pursue commercial fishing as a career.
    • Youth-focused recreational tournaments
      This is another way to provide incentives to increase participation in recreational fishing as a pastime among our youth, which will help to maintain the economic viability of the many dependent businesses and communities.
  • Work to encourage fishery managers to adapt to the seasonal variability in catch between various fishery sectors.
    • Dynamic allocation
      Encourage fishery managers to adopt responsible and agile allocation processes, such as dynamic quota allocation. This type of allocation could maintain the economic viability of all sectors and balance the scientifically-established catch limit (ACL, TAC, and/or TRP) with the seasonal variability of catch among sectors.
  • Work to enhance responsible practices in commercial fisheries.
    • Crewmember training
      Commercial fishermen often receive little to no training before beginning their jobs. The Center believes that this leads to a heightened risk of human safety and unnecessarily limited knowledge regarding responsible fishing practices. The Center could develop a training program intended to serve as a baseline education on responsible fishing and human safety practices.