Do Active Participation Measures Help Fishermen Retain Fishing Privileges?

In numerous fisheries management programs, managers have implemented measures to ensure that the benefits of the fishery accrue to those who are actively fishing. Although active participation measures are common in fisheries management, there has been limited research on these measures. This study highlights the variety of objectives that motivate the development of active participation measures and how they have been implemented. We examine the application of these measures in four case study fisheries management programs—the Alaska Halibut and Sablefish Individual Fishing Quota, the Pacific Coast Sablefish Permit Stacking, the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization, and the Alaska State Limited Entry programs—and, based on the experiences in these programs, provide recommendations for instituting active participation measures in other management programs.