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Other Side thoughts
Posted by Cutter on Nov 23 2005
Ok - first off - For me, the jury is still out on a ya or nay ( because i have my own boat) however...consider these items
im generally against the IFQ but not for
the reasons that some many against the IFQ are.
#1) the Quota will give operators 125% of thier current take...thats pretty good really
#2) the IFQ creates a barrier to entry in the market and thus creates a ready marketplace for IFQ...and banks will be more apt to loan for them vs the current charter boat system where anyone can "get in" and no bank is going to loan on boats etc in a marketplace that really probably needs a little consolidation and is wide open to anyone with a license
#3) IFQ shares can Move from Commercial to Charter but not in reverese.....hmmmm how is this bad? If a Comm guy cant get his fish he can sell them to a charter guy, but they will never come back to commercial. He also has to have a buyer ready for them...with 125% of what you are already getting....i really wonder about the lofty $20/lb value some are giving this IFQ - plus with liquidity in the form of a one way transfer...this devalues the IFQ price - it doesn't increase it on the Charter side.
#4) Local Area Depletion...in 3A where most of the charter guys go, at some point Local area depletion is going to occur - creating an IFQ will in the LONG run keep this from being overharvested...and i am talking of strictly the range in distance an time travelled of a charter operator from Homer/Ninilchik to the fishing grounds - the Comm guys i suspect are fishing waters generally not reachable by the charters and at depths much deeper than a charter guy will go, thus hes taking fish that would never have been available to a Charter boat for harvest...
There is sooo much more to this that discussion that a forum wont give it justice.
Also - to those that say the price of a charter will double...i think you are wrong...you buy the IFQ you OWN it...forever (unless ofc the feds pull it, which is not a real possibilty), so to say that you will have to double your price to cover your IFQ is really misleading....how much per pound is the halibut "really" worth to a charter vs Comm guy to the Grocery store? You can charge $300 to recover your IFQ buy in one year, but how many will pay that price? Will you lower it once your paid off your IFQ? Its a market place...supply and demand will set the limits charged, not the intrinsic value of the IFQ ( not that this doesnt become part of the equation)
You always hear about the charters guys "not making it" and "this will break my business" yet they really aren't opening thier books to show thier current true P/L, and also if this was the case, then why arent more of them failing? maybe they are, i really dont know
You always hear the extremes of both sides of the issue, and thats something to keep in mind about this IFQ.
The system isnt prefect - its going to hurt someone more than the other - that much we know...who this is going to hurt is a whole nuther issue.
All I can say is to educate yourself before you take sides so you can make an informed decision. Its a very complex issue and both sides can prove points that are equally right and equally wrong.
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