The idea behind the vessel day scheme is that by putting a cap on the total number of fishing days available in PNA waters, demand from fishing vessels would bid up the price of each day.
In the past four years returns from the vessel day scheme have quadrupled but now the US fleet says it has to return days already sold under the US Tuna Treaty because it can’t afford to fish.
In the last 18 months catches have hit new records but with so many fish being taken prices have dropped dramatically.