Buyback

Pacific Marine Conservation Council (PMCC) advocates for ecosystem-based management that fosters sustainable fishing communities. The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy was clear in stating, “U.S. ocean and coastal resources should be managed to reflect the relationships among all ecosystem components, including humans and non-human species and the environments in which they live.” We agree.

As PMCC considers important and controversial issues, we think in terms of benefiting the marine environment and the people and livelihoods connected to the sea. In this spirit, we offer the following position statement regarding buyback of fishing permits and/or vessels.

Buyback is an important tool in the 'harvest capacity reduction toolbox'. Buybacks must be carefully crafted and have measurable goals, must pass agency and public scrutiny, and be supported by the immediate fleet members, coastal communities and any others affected by the buyback. Each buyback sets a precedent for future buybacks and, as such, could jeopardize future efforts by the same or different fleets. PMCC's interest is in having good buybacks that meet both conservation and economic goals. In order for a buyback to be effective, PMCC believes the buyback plan must meet the following criteria:

1. Buyback must remove vessels from the fishing fleet. There are no West Coast fisheries that can withstand an infusion of new vessels, or a retooling for greater harvest capacity.

2. Buyback must remove all permits connected to the vessel and vessel owner(s). This provision provides that participating in buyback does not provide a cash incentive to participate in other fisheries. Those who participate in buyback are expected to leave fishing. At the very least, there should be assurances that permits being retired in one fishery do not lead to harvest capacity increases in other fisheries.

3. Buyback must include a moratorium on harvest capacity increases. The moratorium would be put in place for several years following a buyback, five years is recommended, so the effects of reduced fleet harvest capacity can be evaluated before individual fishers invest to increase harvest capacity.

4. Buyback must be in compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act. M-S Act implementation guidelines provide new standards for bycatch, discards and fish mortalities. It would not be prudent nor within the scope of the law to authorize a buyback, or management plan designed to facilitate buyback, that wouldn't pass Magnuson muster. A buyback plan should provide a statement that will establish the buyback plan's relationship with the fisheries law of the land.

5. Buyback should include all fleets that harvest groundfish. In the case of industry funded buybacks, this would allow all groundfish vessels to be involved in the buyback regardless of gear and would allow for all vessels which land groundfish to contribute to the buyback through a landing surcharge. The portion of the revenue from buyback that is derived from industry contributions should incorporate incentives for conservation.

6. Buyback must have measurable goals. How many vessels are to be removed? What is the budget of the buyback? What are the conservation goals of the buyback? How will the reduction help management? In addition, a list of the expected benefits of a buyback should be made part of the buyback plan text. These could be reduction in bycatch, increased price, reduction in harvest capacity, economic viability of remaining vessels, and others. This would provide a way to evaluate the effectiveness of the program so that changes in future buybacks could be considered and implemented. Any buyback plan must not be structured in a way that threatens the economic viability of the remaining fleet.

7. Buyback planning must be a public process. Regardless of the fleet involved, or the proposed funding scheme, it is important that public input be sought and considered. The process involves a public resource, a public fishery authorized by publicly issued fishing permits and managed by a public body and decision-making process. PMCC believes hearings or meetings should be held in coastal communities to learn how others, affected gear groups and community leaders, feel about the proposed program. Many have a stake in this since any buyback will cause economic rippling in coastal communities.

8. Buyback should make business sense. A buyback plan should clearly state its business objectives including how funds for buyback are to raised, an analysis of the remaining fleets ability to payback any loans or debt anticipated, who is responsible for any defaulted loans, the estimated cost per permit or vessel. Of most importance is an analysis that determines if the cost of the buyback is consistent with the benefits derived by the public and the remaining vessels of all fleets. As previously noted, buyback must also be analyzed as to how it will affect coastal community employment and economic stability.

9. Buyback should not be allocative. Managers must have every means available to manage resources, including, but not limited to, the possibility of reallocation to protect habitat and reduce bycatch, and reallocate within a gear-type or between fleet segments. An analysis should be prepared for any redistribution-of-catch scenario that could lead to increases in bycatch. Another allocation concern is the effect any change might have on remaining vessels if a management plan, using redistribution to support an industry funded buyback, "guarantees" access to fish in order to assure cash flow for buyback. Such action would set a dangerous precedent for future buybacks if provisions lock in long range actions that could not be changed if fish populations are adversely affected.