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held to a higher standard of Americanization than other sectors of 

 the fishing industry, and it achieved Congress' goals. 



Congress has not acted with the same vigor in developing a 

 national fisheries policy in the post-Americanization phase. There 

 are important conservation and management problems that require 

 immediate attention. Specifically, Congress needs to emphasize 

 market-basod solutions to fishery management problems and restore 

 credibility to and improve administration of the regional fishery 

 management council process. 



1. Emphasize Market-based Solutions in Fisheri ea Management. 



A root problem in most U.S. fisheries, including the North 

 Pacific and West Coast fisheries, is overcapitalization, excess 

 fish harvesting and processing capacity that results in economic 

 inefficiency. Overcapitalization is prevalent because most 

 fisheries are managed under open access, or Olympic-style, systems. 

 Under open access, each vessel seeks to catch as many fish as 

 possible before the quota is reached. This system rewards those 

 who employ the most fishing effort during a compressed season. 



To solve the overcapitalization problem in the West Coast and 

 North Pacific regions, Arctic Alaska endorses Individual 

 Transferable Quota (ITQ) programs for groundfish and crab. ITQs 

 create a market-based regulatory regime by assigning harvest 

 privileges to vessels based upon their catch history. Vessel 

 owners can buy, sell or lease quota shares. Vessel operators need 



