Catch Shares

Catch shares is a general term for several fishery management strategies that allocate a specific portion of the total allowable fishery catch to individual fishermen, cooperatives, or fishing communities for their exclusive use.

Catch share programs are just one management option regional fishery management councils can choose to meet their management objectives. Catch shares are not required and are not appropriate for every fishery. NOAA Fisheries provides technical and administrative support to councils and stakeholders wishing to consider, design, and/or implement a catch share program for their fishery.

Download the NOAA Catch Share Policy (PDF, 26 pages).

Part of the catch—or a share—of a species is allocated to individual fishermen or groups. Each holder of a catch share must stop fishing when he reaches his limit. In most cases, fishermen can buy/sell or lease shares in a given year. This allows them to plan their fishing around the weather, markets, or other considerations and allows other fishery-dependent businesses to plan more effectively.

In the United States and worldwide, catch share programs can provide many benefits, including:

• Eliminating the race to fish

• Reducing the likelihood that annual catch limits will be exceeded

• Reducing the costs to produce seafood

• Reducing market gluts and increasing dockside prices

• Extending fishing seasons

• Reducing bycatch

• Improving fishermen’s safety

Learn more in our frequently asked questions about catch shares and in our catch share glossary.

The first catch share program was implemented in 1990 in the Mid-Atlantic Surf Clam and Ocean Quahog fishery. Currently there are 17 catch share programs across the United States.

Explore catch share programs around the country.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act outlines requirements for the development of limited access privilege programs, a type of catch share. Limits on the amount of quota an individual or group can hold, monitoring and accountability, regular program reviews to make improvements where needed, and other requirements help fisheries managers establish effective programs.

NOAA Fisheries also recommends that managers adopt the following guiding principles in the design and implementation of catch share programs to provide the best chance for success:

• Identify specific management goals

• Ensure fair and equitable allocations

• Promote flexibility and access via transferability

• Acknowledge distinctions among sectors

• Define the program’s duration

• Promote fishing community sustainability

• Consider royalty provisions

• Implement cost recovery

• Track performance and conduct periodic reviews

Read more about these guiding principles for catch share programs.

Check out the following resources for more information on catch share programs: 

• NOAA Catch Share Policy (PDF, 26 pages)

• Frequent Questions: Catch Shares

• Glossary: Catch Shares

• Guidance for Conducting Review of Catch Share Programs (PDF, 18 pages)

• The Design and Use of Limited Access Privilege Programs