IFQ Program Summary Series No. 2

 

FLORIDA SPINY LOBSTER TRANSFERABLE TRAP CERTIFICATE PROGRAM

 

Program Adopted in 1992

 

 

Statistical Summary of Florida Transferable Trap Certificate Program

 

 

Statements of Individuals Involved in the IFQ Program

 

 

Fishery Representative:  Greg Didiminico, Monroe County Commercial Fishermen's Assoc.

In order for the commercial fishing industry to remain viable under the tremendous scrutiny that exists today, they must professionalize.  We were forced into our lobster certification program in a response to a growing debris problem, overcapitalization and high fishing mortality.  An equally important part of this program was to reduce our effort, meaning reducing our gear but catch the same amount of lobsters (increased catch per unit of effort or CPUE).  Yes, the industry has been downsized but our traditional professional fishermen have continued to purchase the certificates to fish more traps and so they are not fishing any less nor have they reduced their effort.  Yes, mortality has stabilized and recruitment has increased; however, unanticipated outcomes of our program such as theft, the use of unmarked traps, and increased recreational effort have potentially captured the benefits of reduced commercial effort.  The fishermen that have not benefited from this program are the ones that have not reinvested in their fishery and purchased more traps.

 

Fishery Administrator: Roy Williams, Assistant Director, Florida Division of Marine Fisheries

Florida's spiny lobster trap certificate program (TCP) was established in 1992 when the Florida Legislature passed Chapter 370.142, Florida Statutes.  Under the TCP, qualified commercial fishers were issued trap certificates that could be sold on the open market, in all or in part, to other fishers.  There is no limit on the number of people who can participate in the Florida lobster fishery, provided that they meet the fishing income requirement for a restricted species endorsement.  As of November 1, 2000,  2553 lobstermen shared 543,497 certificates.  The TCP has fulfilled initial expectations by reducing the total number of traps from 750,327 in 1993/94 while maintaining harvest and increasing yield per trap.  After watching the performance of the lobster trap certificate program, stone crab fishers have recently initiated the development of a stone crab trap certificate program that will incorporate the features considered desirable as a result of experience with the lobster TCP. Administratively, the TCP has been financially self-supporting and is considered to be successful by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission.

 

Academic Researcher:  Mike Orbach, Cultural Anthropologist, Duke University 

The most important thing to understand about the Florida Lobster Trap Certificate Program is that industry lobbied for it.  Secondly, a lot of time was spent in workshops throughout the Florida Keys to identify the problem; we didn't try to rush anything.  Everyone agreed that the main problem with the fishery was that there were too many traps in the water.  Not everyone agreed on how to fix the problem, so we identified criteria, and discussed a set of management alternatives.  Since over-harvest of lobsters was not the problem in our fishery, we never considered the use of ITQs.  By the end, the trap certificate program floated to the top and became the preferred alternative.  Experience has shown us that if a plan is put in place that industry does not support, it is not going to work.  A couple of reviews have been done on the program and they have all shown that the number of traps has declined and the overall profitability of the fishery has increased.  Some individuals felt they were treated unfairly in the original allocation formula, and others are concerned that there are ways to get around the consolidation limits, but there has been no documented evidence that over-consolidation is occurring.  The largest concern is with enforcement.  There is complaining among some members of the industry, but the original full-time fishermen all say that the plan worked out as it should have, and the industry is better off.  The bottom line is that in 1990 there were one million traps in the water and today there are around 600,000; the objective to reduce traps has clearly been reached while the catch has remained relatively constant.  The system also includes a series of dedicated funds that return fees and surcharges back to the management of the fishery.

 

 

Short Biography for Individuals Who Gave Comments

 

Greg Didiminico is the Executive Director of the Monroe County Commercial Fishermen’s Association.  He has been actively involved in the continuing development and design of the Trap Certificate Program.

Email address: mccf@ddtcom.com

 

Roy Williams is the Assistant Director of the Florida Division of Marine Fisheries.  He has been actively involved in the development and administration of the Florida Spiny Lobster Trap Certificate Program and the newly developed Florida Stone Crab Trap Certificate Program.  He can be reached at (850) 487-0554.

 

Mike Orbach is a Professor of Marine Affairs and Policy and Director of the Marine Laboratory at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University.  He has been involved in social science research in fisheries since the 1970s, and has worked with all eight of the Regional Fishery Management Councils, NMFS/NOAA, and several different states agencies on the design of new policy and management systems using a “bottom-up” approach to policy development involving all fishery constituents.

Email address: mko@duke.edu

 

 

Resources:

 

§         Milon, J.W. et al. 1998. The Performance of Florida’s Spiny Lobster Trap Certification Program. Florida Sea Grant Report Number 116. FLSGP-T-98-003.

• Milon L.W. et al. 1999. Bioeconomic Models of the Florida Commercial Spiny Lobster Fishery. Florida Sea Grant Report Number 117. FLSGP-T-99-002.
• NMFS Annual Commercial Landings Statistics Website, http://www.st.nmfs.gov/st1/commercial/landings/annual_landings.html