Sector Allocations
There are 10 National Standards within the Magnuson-Stevens Act that Councils must follow in fishery management plans to ensure sustainable management. National Standard 4 outlines how to address the allocation of fishery resources:
Conservation and management measures shall not discriminate between residents of different states. If it becomes necessary to allocate or assign fishing privileges among various United States fishermen, such allocation shall be (a) fair and equitable to all such fishermen; (b) reasonably calculated to promote conservation; and (c) carried out in such manner that no particular individual, corporation, or other entity acquires an excessive share of such privilege.
In 2019, the Council approved its Allocation review Trigger Policy to ensure all species for which there are sector allocations (commercial and recreational, including for-hire) would be reviewed on a regular basis and to formalize the allocation review triggers and process.
In 2022, the Council approved an Allocations Decision Tool to help incorporate other sources of information, in addition to landings, into allocation decisions. The approach is a systematic methodology that uses the same question pattern, or tree, for each species considered. As a question is answered, the tree “branches,” or directs to the next question until all the relevant questions are answered, and the Council can identify a course of action for that species.
For many species, the Council has used either a formula or the distribution of commercial and recreational landings over a discrete period to arrive at percentage allocations. The dropdown links below display current allocations for the Snapper Grouper, Dolphin Wahoo and Coastal Migratory Pelagics fishery management plans.