NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service asks for public comment on a proposed rule to the Gulf of Mexico commercial grouper/tilefish IFQ program referendum. In short, this proposed rule “would inform the public of voter-eligibility requirements and the referendum procedures NOAA Fisheries Service would use in conducting the [grouper/tilefish IFQ] referendum.” See the proposed rule in complete at the NOAA Fisheries Web site: sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sf/pdfs/Referendum%20Proposed%20Rule.pdf

NOAA asks for public comment on the rule, but does not give most fishermen or the public a chance to be a part of the voting process. The referendum rule proposes that to be eligible to vote in the IFQ referendum, an individual must possess an active or renewable commercial reef fish permit with combined average annual grouper and tilefish landings of at least 8,000 pounds during 1999-2004.

Referendum procedures are as follows:

1. NOAA Fisheries Service would calculate combined average annual grouper and tilefish landings for each currently active or renewable permit using the highest five years from 1999-2004.

2. Individuals holding a permit with an average of at least 8,000 pounds would be designated as eligible voters.

3. On December 1, 2008, NOAA Fisheries Service would mail eligible voters a ballot for each permit held.

4. Individuals would have 30 days from the postmark date to complete their ballots and mail them to NOAA Fisheries Service.

5. Approval or disapproval of the referendum would be determined by a majority of the votes cast.

Florida Sportsman magazine has been outspoken against IFQs and other forms of Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs) ever since the ideas crept onto the Florida fisheries landscape. IFQs effectively privatize a public resource for a select group of people.

The problems are evident for Alaskan recreational fishermen who target halibut. Bruce Warner, of Alaska Sport Fishing Alliance, is all too familiar with these problems.

“ITQs have the effect of privatizing a public resource contrary to our legal traditions,” says Warner. “Halibut ITQs do not ‘officially’ grant commercial interests a property interest in wild halibut, but the commercials have had some success reducing recreational allocations on the basis of a quasi-contractual argument that, by holding ITQs, they have a vested right to fish.

“Commercial interests have used this smokescreen to erode recreational access,” continues Warner. “Furthermore, ITQs tend to end up in the hands of a few large companies that dominate the fishery to the detriment of recreational anglers. Overall, halibut ITQs do little to conserve the resource or allocate it fairly. In fact, they tend to exclude recreational anglers from the halibut fishery.”

The proposed public comment period ends on October 6, 2008. Send electronic comments to www.regulations.gov, faxes to (727) 824-5308, or mail to Susan Gerhart at:

Sustainable Fisheries Division
Southeast Regional Office
NOAA Fisheries Service
263 13th Avenue South
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701-5505