16 Consolidation of Permit Holders on Fishing Operations

Table 16-1 provides data on halibut harvest and participation by management area from 1990 through 1996. The table shows the total annual harvest, the number of unique persons and vessels with landings, the number of landing days by persons and vessels, the average number of pounds landed per person and vessel, and the ratio of number of persons with landings to the number of vessels with landings.

The 1990 through 1994 harvest data are based upon halibut fish tickets and the counts of persons reflect CFEC permit holders who recorded landings. The 1995 and 1996 data come from NMFS-RAM databases. The number of persons in those years represent unique persons with IFQ identifiers who recorded landings. These persons may be QS owners, hired skippers, or persons leasing QS.

Annual harvests depend primarily upon the total allowable catch (TAC), which is set annually by the IPHC. Table 16-1 indicates that harvests over the 1990-1996 period were usually highest in most areas in the early 1990's and tended to decline until 1995, when catches in six of the seven areas were the lowest over the time period. Harvest data in the table excludes catches made for CDQs. Note that no harvests are shown for Area 4E in 1995 and 1996 because the entire TAC in that area was allocated to CDQs.

After 1995, when the IFQ fisheries commenced, the number of persons and vessels with landings either rose or fell from pre-IFQ fishery levels, depending upon the area. In Areas 2C, 3A, and 4C the number of persons and vessels with landings fell substantially, but in Areas 3B, 4A, 4B, and 4D there has not been a pronounced change in either direction.

Person landing-days are calculated by summing the number of days with landings for each person. Vessel landing-days are calculated in a similar fashion. In Areas 2C and 3A the number of person and vessel landing days increased considerably over what was observed prior to implementation of the IFQ fisheries in 1995. This occurred despite the decrease in the number of persons and vessels participating in the fisheries and despite harvests dropping in 1995 and remaining relatively low in 1996. The IFQ program provided for a longer fishing season and a slower paced fishery and may have contributed to the rise in the number of days in which persons and vessels made landings.

The substantial rise in person and vessel landing-days in Areas 2C and 3A was not observed in other areas. In Area 4B and 4C there was a fairly large reduction in person and vessel landing days, partially due to the reduction in IFQ TAC from CDQ allocations. In Area 3B the number of person landing-days rose after the IFQ fisheries began, but the number of vessel landing-days initially dropped, then rose to 1994 levels. In other areas the figures stayed within levels observed prior to the IFQ program.

Before the IFQ program in 1995, it was not uncommon for more than one CFEC permit holder to make landings off one vessel in the halibut fishery. After the IFQ fisheries were implemented, two or more QS holders might join together to fish their IFQ off one vessel. Table 16-1 indicates that in all areas except Areas 4C and 4E the ratio of the number of unique persons with landings to the number of unique vessels with landings rose in 1995 over the 1990-1994 average, which provides some evidence that the practice of multiple persons recording landings off a single vessel has increased since inception of the program. The ratio of persons to vessels also increased from 1995 to 1996 in these areas.

Table 16-2 shows harvest data for 1995 and 1996, broken out by area and vessel category. Total and mean harvests are shown, as well as the number of persons who recorded landings. The percent of the total area harvest attributed to each vessel category is given and the percent of total persons with landings in each vessel category is also shown.

The source of harvest data in this table is similar to Table 16-1. Catch data is derived from NMFS-RAM databases and harvests made for CDQs have been excluded. Area 4E does not appear on the table because the entire TAC in 1995 and 1996 was devoted to CDQs.

Note that some persons have landings in more than one vessel category in an area; therefore, the sum of persons with landings in each vessel category is greater than the overall unique number of persons with landings shown in Table 16-1.

Table 16-1. Summary of 1990-1996 Halibut Harvest and Participation

Table 16-2. Summary of 1995-1996 Halibut Harvest and Participation by Category