Alaska Community Survey - initial telephone recruitment

Attachment F: Telephone Script
Telephone Recruitment for communities profiled in Sepez et al (2005)
[Ask to speak with city manager, mayor, village council president or someone in their offices]
Hello, my name is ________________ and I am calling from the Alaska Fisheries Science
Center in Seattle, WA, on behalf of the National Marine Fisheries Service. I am trying to reach
[name on address].
[IF NOT AVAILABLE] Thank you, I will call back later. When would be a good time to
reach [name on address]?
[IF QUALIFIED RESPONDENT IS ON THE PHONE]
We are conducting a study to learn more about Alaskan fishing communities, such as yours. The
information we collect will improve the quality of information available about communities, and
provide more complete information on how they are tied to fisheries.
We are contacting you as someone with in-depth knowledge about [COMMUNITY NAME]. We
sent you a questionnaire in the mail that you should receive in the next few days. It contains
questions about the involvement of people from [COMMUNITY NAME] in fishing and how
[COMMUNITY NAME]’s economy is tied to fishing. The information you provide will allow us
to update the profile of [COMMUNITY NAME] in an updated version of our community
profiles document, which is called: Community Profiles for North Pacific Fisheries – Alaska.
Your responses are important because you are one of only two people in [COMMUNITY
NAME] that we are contacting to participate in this study. As I said before, the information
you provide will be used to update the profile for [COMMUNITY NAME]. The community
profiles may be used to help shape decisions about federal government actions on fisheries in
Alaska, so we need your help to provide the best possible information about [COMMUNITY
NAME].
Hopefully you will be willing to help us collect this information. After you receive the
questionnaire in the mail, please take a look at it and let us know if you have any questions at all
about this study. You can call Amber Himes, the project lead, at (206) 526-4221.
Please look for the survey in the mail in the next couple of days. Thank you in advance for your
help with this project.
Have a great day.
[TERMINATE]
QUESTIONS/COMMENTS AND ANSWERS

[If concerned about purpose of the call] This is not a marketing or sales call. This study aims to
collect information from Alaskan fishing communities to help us understand each community’s
dependence on fishing better. This study will allow for the expansion of information included in
the updated publication of the Community Profiles for North Pacific Fisheries – Alaska
(originally published in 2005). We plan on using this information collected from this study in
order to provide a more holistic description of each community profiled in this document. Your
time spent on this survey will also help to improve the quality of information provided in the
community profile for [COMMUNITY NAME]. The public input provided will be available to
government, industry, and citizen groups to consider when evaluating ways to manage fisheries
in Alaska and community dependence on fishing. I want to assure you that your answers will be
kept anonymous and your name will not be revealed to anyone.
[If asking about the study sponsor] This survey is sponsored by NMFS, also known as the
National Marine Fisheries Service, a U.S. government agency charged with understanding the
effects of federal management actions and policies affecting the nation’s marine fisheries.
[If concerned about how the information will be used] The information collected in this study
will be used to better understand the dependence of Alaskan communities on fishing and to
update the Community Profiles for North Pacific Fisheries – Alaska. It will also be used to
compose a more holistic profile of fisheries involvement in each community. This information
will be publicly available. It will also serve to meet regulatory requirements, including, for
example, requirements concerning information about fishing communities in the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation Act National Standard 8. I want to assure you that your answers
will be kept anonymous and your name will not be revealed to anyone.
[If asking about who the study includes] WHO DOES THIS STUDY INCLUDE? This study
includes city and tribal governments of Alaskan fishing communities.
[If asking about how their name was obtained] You were identified from publicly available
sources as someone with in-depth knowledge about [COMMUNITY NAME].

Telephone Recruitment for communities not profiled in Sepez et al (2005)
[Ask to speak with city manager, mayor, village council president or someone in their offices]
Hello, my name is ________________ and I am calling from the Alaska Fisheries Science
Center in Seattle, WA, on behalf of the National Marine Fisheries Service. I am trying to reach
[name on address].
[IF NOT AVAILABLE] Thank you, I will call back later. When would be a good time to
reach [name on address]?
[IF QUALIFIED RESPONDENT IS ON THE PHONE]
We are conducting a study to learn more about Alaskan fishing communities, such as yours. The
information we collect will improve the quality of information available about communities, and
provide more complete information on how they are tied to fisheries.
We are contacting you as someone with in-depth knowledge about [COMMUNITY NAME]. We
sent you a questionnaire in the mail that you should receive in the next few days. It contains
questions about the involvement of people from [COMMUNITY NAME] in fishing and how
[COMMUNITY NAME]’s economy is tied to fishing. The information you provide will allow us
to include a profile of [COMMUNITY NAME] in an updated version of our community profiles
document, which is called: Community Profiles for North Pacific Fisheries – Alaska.
Your responses are important because you are one of only two people in [COMMUNITY
NAME] that we are contacting to participate in this study. As I said before, the information
you provide will be used to create a profile for [COMMUNITY NAME]. The community
profiles may be used to help shape decisions about federal government actions on fisheries in
Alaska, so we need your help to provide the best possible information about [COMMUNITY
NAME].
Hopefully you will be willing to help us collect this information. After you receive the
questionnaire in the mail, please take a look at it and let us know if you have any questions at all
about this study. You can call Amber Himes, the project lead, at (206) 526-4221.
Please look for the survey in the mail in the next couple of days. Thank you in advance for your
help with this project.
Have a great day.
[TERMINATE]
QUESTIONS/COMMENTS AND ANSWERS
[If concerned about purpose of the call] This is not a marketing or sales call. This study aims to
collect information from Alaskan fishing communities to help us understand each community’s

dependence on fishing better. This study will allow for the expansion of information included in
the updated publication of the Community Profiles for North Pacific Fisheries – Alaska
(originally published in 2005). We plan on using this information collected from this study in
order to provide a more holistic description of each community profiled in this document. Your
time spent on this survey will also help to improve the quality of information provided in the
community profile for [COMMUNITY NAME]. The public input provided will be available to
government, industry, and citizen groups to consider when evaluating ways to manage fisheries
in Alaska and community dependence on fishing. I want to assure you that your answers will be
kept anonymous and your name will not be revealed to anyone.
[If asking about the study sponsor] This survey is sponsored by NMFS, also known as the
National Marine Fisheries Service, a U.S. government agency charged with understanding the
effects of federal management actions and policies affecting the nation’s marine fisheries.
[If concerned about how the information will be used] The information collected in this study
will be used to better understand the dependence of Alaskan communities on fishing and to
update the Community Profiles for North Pacific Fisheries – Alaska. It will also be used to
compose a more holistic profile of fisheries involvement in each community. This information
will be publicly available. It will also serve to meet regulatory requirements, including, for
example, requirements concerning information about fishing communities in the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation Act National Standard 8. I want to assure you that your answers
will be kept anonymous and your name will not be revealed to anyone.
[If asking about who the study includes] WHO DOES THIS STUDY INCLUDE? This study
includes city and tribal governments of Alaskan fishing communities.
[If asking about how their name was obtained] You were identified from publicly available
sources as someone with in-depth knowledge about [COMMUNITY NAME].