Spatial distribution of small pelagic fishes: Implications for fishing quota allocations

The upwelling ecosystem of central southern Chile sustains the pelagic common sardine and anchovy fisheries, which are managed by setting a global quota allocated to small-scale (artisanal) and industrial fishers. A pre arranged spatial allocation of quotas for small-scale fishers is based on historical landings rather than the current spatial distribution of the target species. Artisanal fishers can only fish in their original Spatial Administrative Units (SAUs) according to fishing rights. Marked environmental variability, such as that caused by ENSO events, trigger changes in the local availability of resources. Thereafter, artisanal and industrial fishers compensate for low yields by transferring their fishing quota to quota holders (artisanal-artisanal, industrial-artisanal, artisanal-industrial) from other SAUs. The legal procedure for transferring quotas among users is efficient to harvest the total allowable catch. This procedure favors the quota holders but is detrimental to the crew of vessels that transfer quotas to other fishers. A mechanism is recommended to distribute the profits obtained by quota transfers between ship owners and crews to avoid this negative effect.