"Some might say this is like putting 

 the fox in the hen coop to guard the 

 hens," he says. "But now, in the 'open' 

 system, there's no coop, the hens are 

 free-ranging and they're subject to 

 predation not only from foxes but 

 raccoons, skunks and others. The smart 

 fox won't kill all the hens at once." 



But whatever means of control that 

 is used to limit a fishery must be 

 transferable, Christy says. Fishermen 

 must be allowed to sell their fishing 

 rights or pass them to family members 

 so that attrition doesn't occur. 



Alaska began a limited entry 

 system in the early 1970s when catches 

 of salmon reached all-time lows, says 

 Ben Muse of the Alaska Commercial 

 Entry Commission (ACEC). Now, 52 of 

 the state's fisheries have limited access. 



In Alaska, the ACEC issues 



permits to fish a specific species using a 

 particular gear in a defined area. For 

 example, a person who wants to catch 

 salmon in Prince William Sound using a 

 gill net has to buy a Prince William 

 Sound gill net permit for salmon. 



The fisherman must always have 

 the permit in his possession when on the 

 water, and the permit can't be used by 

 anyone other than the fisherman to 

 whom it's issued. This provision 

 prevents large processors or corpora- 

 tions from buying permits and control- 

 ling the fishery — a common fear 

 among commercial watermen. 



Allocations of permits are made 

 yearly and are based on catch records 

 kept by the state fisheries managers. 

 Fishermen must pay for their permits, 

 sometimes tens of thousands of dollars 

 for permits in high-value fisheries 



where revenues can exceed $1 million. 



Like Alaska, Maryland had to 

 face sharp declines in its most profit- 

 able fishery — blue crabs — to 

 consider limited entry management. In 

 1992, crab catches reached a historical 

 low, says Dave Blazer of the Maryland 

 Department of Natural Resources 

 (DNR). 



"There were more pots in the water 

 and more people in the fishery than 

 ever before," Blazer says. "Crabbers 

 were working longer and longer hours 

 for the same amount of catch. Catch per 

 unit of effort was way down." 



The state had already tried gear 

 restrictions, size limits, seasons and 

 fees, but none worked. Blazer says. 

 That's when the Maryland DNR 

 decided to limit access in the fishery 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 1 5 



