Estabrook Barry
Gastronomica (Berkeley Calif). 2010;10(3):66-9. doi: 10.1525/gfc.2010.10.3.66.
Red snappers in the Gulf of Mexico once hovered on the brink of extinction, their population having dropped to 2 percent of what had historically swum in the Gulf. But thanks to a recently introduced plan that turns the conventional wisdom of fisheries management on its head, the picture has begun to change. Called Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQs), the new regulations, which give a guaranteed allotment of fish to each participant instead of applying industry-wide quotas, went into effect for Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) in early 2007. The results were immediate and so profound that the Gulf Fishery Management Council voted earlier this year to increase the annual limit on red snapper to nearly 7 million pounds from 5 million.
墨西哥湾的红鲷鱼曾经濒临灭绝，其数量已降至历史上在该海湾游动数量的2%。但得益于一项最近出台的计划，该计划彻底颠覆了渔业管理的传统观念，情况已开始有所改观。这项名为“个体捕捞配额”（IFQs）的新规定，于2007年初在墨西哥湾红鲷鱼（紫红笛鲷）渔业中生效，它为每个参与者分配一定数量的可捕捞鱼类，而非设定全行业统一配额。结果立竿见影且影响深远，以至于今年早些时候，墨西哥湾渔业管理委员会投票决定将红鲷鱼的年度捕捞上限从500万磅提高至近700万磅。
