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13 New Entrants in the Fishery

Other sections of this report examine the net result of consolidations and transfer activities that have occurred since the initial QS allocation. Some of the transferred QS went to initial issuees and some went to new entrants. The tables in this section present data that show the extent to which new entrants obtained QS and entered the halibut fishery. The data suggest that significant numbers of persons who were not initial issuees for an area were able to obtain halibut QS.

The IFQ program provides for free transferability of QS, subject to several constraints designed to temper consolidation and ensure preservation of opportunities for the smaller-boat and part-time portion of the fleet that existed under open access. These constraints are discussed in Chapters 2 and 3 and in other sections of this report.

Any U.S. citizen or entity can receive freezer vessel QS through transfer. Persons who are initial QS recipients or IFQ crew members may receive catcher vessel QS through transfer. Under the IFQ program, an IFQ crew member is defined as any individual who has at least 150 days experience working as part of a harvesting crew in any United States commercial fishery or as any individual who receives an initial allocation of QS.

New entrants may also occur by regulations which allow an individual to transfer QS to the individual's solely owned corporation (a new entity). New entrants might also occur because of transfers due to court order, operation of law, or as part of a security agreement. However, in these latter cases IFQ is not assigned unless the person receiving the QS transfer meets all of the eligibility requirements

Table 13-1a shows the amount of QS and the percentage of QS by halibut area which was still held by initial QS recipients at the end of 1995 and 1996. The table also provides the percentage these initial holders represent of all QS holders, and their average QS holdings.

The table shows the amount and percentage of halibut QS by halibut management area which is held by new entrants to the area at the end of 1995 and 1996. Note that a new entrant in one area may have been an initial QS recipient in some other area(s). The table provides the number of new entrants to each area, the percentage these new entrants represent of all QS holders, and their average QS holdings.

New entrants to each area held variable amounts of QS at year-end 1996, from 0% in Area 4E to 18.1% in Area 4A. The number of persons at year-end 1996 who were new entrants to the area also varied, from 0% of the QS holders in Area 4E to 15.4% of the QS holders in Area 3B. With the exception of Area 4E, the data suggest that significant numbers of new persons were able to enter each halibut area after initial issuance.

As stated, some of the new QS holders in an area were initial QS recipients in other halibut areas or received an initial allocation of sablefish QS. This can be seen in Table 13- 1b, which examines more closely the new entrants in each IPHC area.

Table 13-1b provides data on the total QS and the total number of persons holding QS at year-end 1995 and 1996, by IPHC management area. The table also shows the number of remaining initial QS recipients at year-end 1995 and 1996 and the percentage of the total QS holders which they represent.

The table examines new entrants in each area. New entrants are defined as entities that were not initial recipients of QS in an area, but held QS for that area at the end of the year in question. However, some of the new entrants in an area were initial recipients of QS in another area or for another species. This is shown in the other columns in Table 13-1b.

For example, in Area 3A there were 348 new entrants who held QS as of year-end 1996. Of these persons, 320 were "new holders" of halibut QS and 319 were entirely new entrants to the IFQ program. The numbers imply that 28 of the 348 new entrants in Area 3A were initial issuees of halibut QS in some other area and 29 of the 348 new entrants in Area 3A were either initial issuees of halibut in some other area or initial issuees of sablefish.

Table 13-2 provides information on the extent to which lessees (persons who receive leased QS) were initial QS recipients or new QS holders. A large portion of the leased QS went to persons who did not receive an initial QS allocation in the area. In some areas, there were no QS leases.


Table 13-1a. Halibut QS Holdings of Initial Issuees and New Entrants by Year-end 1995 and 1996

Table 13-1b. New Entrants to the IFQ Fisheries

Table 13-2. Leases of Halibut QS to Initial Issuees and New Entrants by Area