149 



• Factory trawlers are prinwily largo vessels (250-33 feet long) with large 



' horsopower (4,000^,000 hp) that catch and process their own ftsK Factory 

 trawlers have the shortest catch history in the whiting fishery, starting in \99Q. 



• Mothcrships are Urge vessels that process fish but dcn*t have the capability to 

 catch theif own fish. They contract with traditional catdicr vcitscts to catch (h« 

 fish for thoni. The only difference between motb<^ip8 and shorcplants is the 

 location of their processing activity. 



• Traditional catdier vessels in tlw whiting fishery are 75-120 fleet long, have 

 800-1 200 horsepower, and catch but do not process fish. Instead, fficy dcUvw 

 their catch either to a mothcrship or to a shoreplant for processing. The catcher 

 vctiscts have the longest histoiy in the fishery, going back to 1979. 



• ShorepIfUTts, located oa the beach, proccfis fish delivtf ed by catcher vessels of 

 the sante class as those tfiat deliver to motherships. 



K^ost of those 1 represent today deliver to mothcrship* at sea, although some have 

 shorebascd markds. 



Many people have portrayed this issue as a contc?<t between factory trawlors and 

 sl\orebased processors. In the heat of this battle, one sector of the flshciy has been 

 largely ignored: the traditional catcher vessel in general and q>ectf!Gally those that 

 dcjlivcf at sea to motherships. We who have the longest participation in the fishery 

 hdve seen our catch reduced from a high of 96% in 1989 down to 10% in 1993 - an 

 enormous reduction in just five short years (sec Table I and lA). One of the main 

 re^ns for tliis is that we doni have an allocation of our own and are forced to 

 compote bead to head with the much larger, more powerful fiiclory trawlers. 



Ticre seems to be a mlsutidarstanding about the action thai was taken by the 

 Dopartniont of Commerce. They did not create an allocation plan of any kind. 

 Inktcad their action had the etfect of disapproving the Councfl's decision and 

 eiiswring that both the shorcsidc and the at-sea sectors would harvest the same 

 pi'centagea of the catch that thoy did in 1992. Their actions are well within their 

 le$al authority. 



It miglit have been better for us if they had exceeded their authority. The ooundra 

 ddcialoQ was based on the location of the processor, either at sea or ashore, and 

 wi)uld have placed the at-sea catdho- boats in direct competition with fiictoiy 

 trawlers for a shar* of the harveat Wo had argued strenuously with the CouncU 

 about the unfairness of this plan, and wa continued to express this view to 

 Commerce staff. Wc asked to have the at-sea allocation separated between catch 



