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.