Community Development Quota Program Research Articles

Marine Coastal Resources as an Engine of Development for the Lafkenche and Williche Populations of Southern Chile

Lafkenche and Williche, the Mapuche coastal population in Chile, used coastal marine areas and resources for centuries. The Spanish colonization and the subsequent establishment of the Republic of Chile curtailed these access rights and traditional uses. In 2008, the government of Chile introduced the “Lafkenche Law” establishing exclusive access rights for traditional indigenous use of coastal marine areas and resources, but the law has not led to effective self-determination or the development of the ethnic Mapuche populations. Interviews with indigenous community leaders in October 2014 confirmed their dissatisfaction with this law. This article discusses whether the experience of other nations, such as the innovative Community Development Quota Program in Alaska in the United States, which allocates a portion of certain species in the Bering Sea to coastal communities, can help overcome marine resources access barriers affecting the Mapuche people.

Alaska's community development quota program: A complex institution affecting rural communities in disparate ways

The Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) program created six regional CDQ groups, each of which were given fisheries quota to manage on behalf of qualifying rural Alaskan communities. Since its inception in the 1990s, the program has created dozens of jobs and millions of dollars' worth of revenue and is widely considered an example of successful community development. However, in mixed economies like those of the rural Alaskan villages covered by the CDQ program, economic metrics often fail to capture changes in non-economic factors of critical importance to residents. To address this lacuna, we examined how CDQ has influenced community well-being in four communities associated with four different CDQ groups. Interviews and focus groups in these communities indicated that CDQ's influence on well-being varied greatly. In some communities, CDQ increased local autonomy and, hence, well-being. In other communities, residents felt disenfranchised; control of their resources rested in urban board rooms to which they struggled to gain access. These findings indicate that power dynamics built into the design of the CDQ program have important ramifications for community well-being and that future development programs in fisheries management could benefit from better understandings of socio-cultural concepts such as well-being, in both program design and assessment stages.

Changing usage and value in the Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) program

An important element in the U.S. management of fisheries in the North Pacific is the existence of Community Development Quotas (CDQs) which grant community corporations the right to fish in many fisheries off the coast of Alaska. The eastern Bering Sea pollock fishery is the largest of these fisheries, with 10 % of the quota allocated to CDQs. The CDQ program evolved from a partial catch share program that existed from 1992 to 1999 within a limited-entry fishery to a full catch share program with separate spatial rights. In this paper I examine the temporal and spatial uses of CDQ rights and how these uses have changed since the implementation of catch shares throughout the fishery. I also discuss the dispersion of CDQ royalties since the program’s inception and examine the prices of CDQ fishing rights from 1992 to 2005 when data on quota value were reported to the government. I compare quota prices to information about walleye pollock fishing and examine the evolving use of CDQ rights. The use of the CDQ right has changed from extending the season to enabling fishing in otherwise closed areas during the season. The number of vessels fishing with CDQ rights has declined substantially, with all pollock CDQ fishing now done by at-sea processors.

Towards sustainable fisheries: Assessing co-management effectiveness for the Columbia River Basin

AbstractCo-management theory argues that incorporating local knowledge into fisheries science decision-making can lead to more sustainable fisheries through improved fishery dynamics, reduced harvest pressure, and increased regulatory compliance. The Maine lobster fishery, Japanese fishing cooperatives, and Alaska’s Community Development Quota Program are all considered successful models of fisheries co-management. Co-management arrangements between Pacific Northwest treaty tribes and state managers were first established in the 1970s, following court decisions upholding the tribes’ treaty rights to fish. However, the long-term effectiveness of Pacific Northwest salmon fisheries co-management is not fully understood. Here I present an historical analysis of co-management effects for the Columbia River salmon fishery, from both an ecological and social perspective. My research objectives are to (1) evaluate the perceived impact of tribal participation in salmon fishery management decisions (2) assess social, economic, and ecological impacts of fisheries co-management, and (3) understand barriers to co-management efforts in terms of institutional and political frameworks. Building on Evelyn Pinkerton’s research, I use archival materials, scientific literature, and interviews with key actors to define key developments in Columbia River salmon fishery co-management, including legal decisions and the establishment of tribal fish commissions. I then conduct a preliminary analysis of co-management effectiveness over time. Initial results suggest that tribal participation in fisheries management has led to ecologically and socially sustainable fisheries management practices in the Columbia River basin, although political disagreements have held back progress. For example, tribal fisheries co-management has led to improved ecological management practices, including new requirements for counting fish harvest levels and monitoring of habitat quality. Co-management has created economic opportunities, such as niche markets for native-caught fish and added-value processing, which can generate larger profits from smaller fish harvests. Increasing tribal fisheries capacity through co-management has also forwarded community efforts to ensure cultural survival by maintaining traditional fishing practices. Institutional and political barriers to co-management that include sovereignty issues, regulatory conflicts, and funding needs present challenges to resolving habitat management problems for the region.

The Alaska community development quota fisheries management program

The State of Alaska and the National Marine Fisheries Service administer a Community Development Quota (CDQ) fisheries management program for the groundfish pollock in the Bering Sea off Alaska. The CDQ program is of interest as a limited access management system which explicitly recognizes the special needs of communities as distinct from business firms or individuals, while achieving some of the benefits, as well as costs, of other programs such as limited licensing and individual transferable quotas. This article describes the program, reviews some of its benefits and costs, notes the recent creation of CDQs for other species, and suggests the importance of CDQs for future fisheries management.