Catch shares are a fisheries management system that treat fishing rights like stock on Wall Street. This system has enabled mega-corporations and equity firms to seize and monopolize fishing access. Learn more about NAMA’s ongoing efforts to support fishing communities in taking back control of fisheries.

A new report from Vermont Law School’s Center for Agriculture and Food Systems takes a closer look at how catch share programs have affected America’s fishing communities, local economies, and access to fishing rights.

Some key takeaways from Fair Shares: An Analysis of Catch Share Programs in the U.S.:

• Catch shares have led to fishing rights becoming concentrated in the hands of fewer and larger companies.
• Small-scale and new fishermen have struggled to stay in business under catch share programs.
• Fishing communities have lost local jobs, ownership, and economic stability as access has consolidated.

The report also raises concerns about transparency and public accountability in catch share management. Researchers examined four U.S. fisheries to show how these impacts play out in practice.

Read the full report below: