The term catch share refers to fishery management strategies that allocate a portion of the total allowable fishery catch to individuals, cooperatives, communities, or other entities. Recipients must not exceed their allocation.
There are many types of catch shares such as limited access privilege programs (LAPPs) and individual fishing quotas (IFQ). Catch shares include other exclusive allocative measures, such as Territorial Use Rights for Fisheries (TURFs) that grant an exclusive privilege to fish in a geographically designated fishing ground.
Current Programs
There are currently 17 catch share programs across the country. NOAA Fisheries encourages the consideration and adoption of catch shares where appropriate. We work with regional fishery management councils to develop new programs when the councils determine they are needed.
