American Samoa Survey

OMB Control No. 0648-xxxx

Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

2014 American Samoa Small Boat Fishery Cost-Earnings Survey

Hello, please help us (NOAA) to better understand the importance of small boat fishing in American Samoa. Your details of fishing experiences and expenditures are important to ensure accurate results. We want to best represent American Samoa fishermen, and we can only do that by hearing from as many fishermen as possible. While your response is voluntary, we hope that you can help us in this research.

SECTION A. YOUR FISHING EXPERIENCES

Different fishermen in American Samoa had different fishing experiences over the past 12 months. Please tell us about yours.

1. What type of fishing trips did you take in the past 12 months?

 I went fishing using a boat only	Go to Q2
 I went fishing sometimes using a boat and sometimes not using a boat	Go to Q2
 I went fishing not using a boat	Go to Q4

2. Approximately how many BOAT fishing trips did you take in the past 12 months?

 0 (no boat fishing trips in the past 12 months)

 Fewer than 25 trips (about once every other week)

 25-49 trips (about once a week)

 50-99 trips (about once or twice a week)

 100-200 trips (about two to three times a week)

 More than 200 trips (about three to four times a week or more)

3. In the past 12 months, what percent of your BOAT fishing trips were: (please check one for each gear type)

	0%	1%-25%	26%-50%	51%-75%	76%-100%
Spearfishing					
Bottomfishing					
Trolling					
Net					
Other gear, please specify					
_________________________

4. Approximately how many NON-BOAT fishing (shoreline) trips did you take in the past 12 months?

 0 (no non-boat fishing trips in the past 12 months)

 Fewer than 25 trips (about once every other week)

 25-49 trips (about once a week)

 50-99 trips (about once or twice a week)

 100-200 trips (about two to three times a week)

 More than 200 trips (about three to four times a week or more)

5. In the past 12 months, what percent of your NON-BOAT fishing (shoreline) trips were: (please check one

for each gear type)

	0%	1%-25%	26%-50%	51%-75%	76%-100%
Rod and reel (pole)					
Spearfishing					
Cast/throw net					
Other gear, please specify_______					
_________________________

6. In the past 12 months, what percent of your fishing trips occurred in local and federal jurisdiction?

	0%	1%-25%	26%-50%	51%-75%	76%-100%
Local waters (0-3 miles)					
Federal waters (3 miles offshore)					

7. How many people in total, including yourself, are on board for an average fishing trip? _______________ people

8. In the past 12 months, approximately how many total pounds of pelagic fish did you catch?

 None	 101 - 500 pounds
 1 - 50 pounds	 501 - 1000 pounds
 51 - 100 pounds	 More than 1000 pounds	About how much? _________ pounds

9. In the past 12 months, approximately how many total pounds of bottomfish did you catch?

 None	 101 - 500 pounds
 1 - 50 pounds	 501 - 1000 pounds
 51 - 100 pounds	 More than 1000 pounds	About how much? _________ pounds

10. In the past 12 months, approximately how many total pounds of reef fish did you catch?

 None	 101 - 500 pounds
 1 - 50 pounds	 501 - 1000 pounds
 51 - 100 pounds	 More than 1000 pounds	About how much? _________ pounds

11. In the past 12 months, what percent of your fishing trips were sampled by the biosampling program?

0%	1%-25%	26%-50%	51%-75%	76%-100%
				

SECTION B. MARKET PARTICIPATION

12. How do you define yourself as a fisherman? (Check one that applies)

 Full-time commercial	 Purely recreational
 Part-time commercial	 Subsistence
 Recreational expense	 Culture
	 Other, please specify_________________________

13. In the past 12 months, how were the catches distributed? (please check one and estimate percentage)

 I keep all the fish I catch

 I received __________ % of total fish caught

 I received __________ % of trip revenue

 Don’t know/different every time

 Other, please describe: _____________________________________________

14. In the past 12 months, what percent of your catch was:

	0%	1%-25%	26%-50%	51%-75%	76%-100%
Consumed at home					
Given away					
Caught and released					
Sold					

15. In the past 12 months, did you ever sell any of the fish you caught?

 Yes Q16

 No Q20

If you sold any of your fish…

16. In the past 12 months, where did you sell your fish?

 Fagatogo Market Place
 Restaurants/stores
 Roadside/farmers’ market
 Friends/neighbors/coworkers
 Other, please specify	__________________________

If you sold any of your fish…

17. In the past 12 months, what was the approximate value of all the fish you sold?

 $1 - $100	 $1,001 - $2,000	 $10,001 - $20,000
 $101 - $500	 $2,001 - $5,000	 $20,001 - $50,000
 $501 - $1,000	 $5,001 - $10,000	 More than $50,000, specify $_____________________

If you sold any of your fish…

18. In the past 12 months, what percent of the value of fish sold (question 17) came from the sale of pelagic

fish, bottomfish, and reef fish?

	0%	1%-25%	26%-50%	51%-75%	76%-100%
Pelagic Fish					
Bottomfish					
Reef Fish					

If you sold any of your fish…

19. In the past 12 months, after expenses, what percent of your personal income came from the sale of fish?

1%-25%	26%-50%	51%-75%	76%-100%
			

SECTION C. YOUR VESSEL

In this section, we want to better understand the vessel and gear characteristics of boat based fishing in American Samoa.

20. Do you own the boat that you fish on?

 Yes Go to Question 21

 No Go to Question 28

If you own the boat that you fish on:

21. In the past 12 months, what percent of time did other people (other than family members) use the boat

without you?

0%	1%-25%	26%-50%	51%-75%	76%-100%
				

22. What is the length of your boat? _______________ feet

23. What is the horsepower? _______________hp

24. In what year was the boat built? _______________

25. In what year did you purchase the boat you fish on? _______________

(If homebuilt – when did you complete it?)

26. How much did you pay to purchase the boat you fish on? $________________

(If homebuilt – how much did it cost to build it?)

27. What is the approximate market value of your boat?

(considering age and current condition and including motor(s) and trailer) $____________________

SECTION D. YOUR FISHING TRIP COSTS

We now want to understand your per trip costs for fishing.

Please remember that all your answers are strictly confidential.

28. In the past 12 months, what was the primary gear usage for your most common trip (please check one)?

 Spearfishing	 Net
 Bottomfishing	 Other gear, specify ____________________
 Trolling

28a. On average, how much money did you spend on your most common (question 28) gear type trip?

Type of Expenditure	Total Trip Expenditure
Boat fuel	$________________________________
Truck fuel (round trip)	$________________________________
Oil	$________________________________
Ice	$________________________________
Bait	$________________________________
Food and beverage	$________________________________
Daily maintenance and repair	$________________________________
Other, please specify _________________________	$________________________________

28b. How were the trip costs distributed among your most common gear type (question 28)?

(please check one and estimate percentage)

 I paid all trip costs

 I paid a flat rate of $ _____________

 I paid _________ % of the total trip costs

 Other, please describe: ______________________________________________________________________________________

29. In the past 12 months, what was your second most common gear usage (please check one)?

 Spearfishing	 Net
 Bottomfishing	 Other gear, specify ____________________
 Trolling

29a. On average, how much money did you spend on your second most common (question 29) gear type trip?

Type of Expenditure	Total Trip Expenditure
Boat fuel	$________________________________
Truck fuel (round trip)	$________________________________
Oil	$________________________________
Ice	$________________________________
Bait	$________________________________
Food and beverage	$________________________________
Daily maintenance and repair	$________________________________
Other, please specify _________________________	$________________________________

29b. How were the trip costs distributed among your second most common gear type (question 29)? (please check one and estimate percentage)

 I paid all trip costs

 I paid a flat rate of $ _____________

 I paid _________ % of the total trip costs

 Other, please describe: ______________________________________________________________________________________

SECTION E. 2013 FISHING EXPENDITURES

In an effort to better understand your economic contribution to American Samoa’s economy, we would like to ask about your fishing-related expenditures in 2013. In the table below please indicate how much, if any, was spent on the following items during 2013.

Enter “0” if you did not have any expenses in a category. Please do not leave blank.

Remember that all your answers are strictly confidential.

30. Cost Category 2013 Expenditure (dollars)
Boat insurance ………………………………………………………	$__________________________	per month per year
Loan payments ..…………………………………………………….	$__________________________	per month per year
Mooring fees ………………………………………………………….	$__________________________	per month per year
Gear replacement/repair (lines, lures, gaffs, rods, electric/hydraulic reels, spears, wetsuits, coolers, safety equipment, etc.) ……….	$__________________________
Annual boat and trailer repair, maintenance, and improvements................................................................................	$__________________________
Fees (registration for truck and trailer, safety, dry dock fees, etc.) ………………………………………………………………….	$__________________________
Financial services ……..…………………………………………....	$__________________________
Other, please specify ……………………………………………... _________________________	$__________________________

SECTION F. ABOUT YOU

Different people have different fishing experiences and different motivations for fishing.

The following questions help us to better understand these differences.

31. What is your gender?

 Male

 Female

32. What is your age?

 Less than 25 years	 45 to 54 years
 25 to 34 years	 55 to 64 years
 35 to 44 years	 More than 64 years

33. What village do you live in? _____________________

34. Are you Hispanic or Latino?

 Yes, Hispanic or Latino

 No, not Hispanic or Latino

35. How would you describe your race? (check all that apply)

 Samoan	 Black or African American
 American Indian or Alaska Native	 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
 Asian	 White

36. What is the highest level of education you have completed?

 Less than 9th grade	 Associates degree or technical school
 Some high school (no diploma)	 College graduate (bachelor degree)
 High school graduate (including GED)	 Advanced, professional, or doctoral degree
 Some college (no degree)

37. What was your total household income, before taxes, in 2013, including fishing income?

 Less than $10,000	 $50,000 to $99,999
 $10,000 to $24,999	 $100,000 to $249,999
 $25,000 to $49,999	 $250,000 or more

SECTION G. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

38. Do you have any suggestions for how American Samoa’s fisheries should be managed or topics that you

feel need further study?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for participating in this survey.

Please use the enclosed postage paid return envelope to mail back your survey.

The information you have provided will improve our understanding of the importance of fishing in American Samoa.

Would you like to receive a copy of the final report for this study? (all personal information will be kept strictly confidential)

 Yes	Name: _______________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________
 No	Email address:____________________________________

May we contact you if we have any questions about your survey responses?

 Yes	Phone: _____________________________________ Best time to reach you: ___________________________________
 No	(your phone number will be kept strictly confidential)

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30 minutes per response including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other suggestions for reducing this burden to NOAA IRC, NMFS/PIFSC/DO/Dr. Minling Pan, 1845 Wasp Blvd., Building 176, Honolulu HI 96818. The information you provide will remain strictly confidential as required by section 402(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens and NOAA Administrative Order 216-100, Confidentiality of Fisheries Statistics, and will not be released for public use except in aggregate statistical form without identification as to its source. We will combine your responses with information provided by other participants, and report it in summary form so that responses for any individual vessel cannot be identified. Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subjected to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.

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