West Coast Fisheries Participation Survey

**DRAFT**

WEST COAST FISHERIES PARTICIPANTS SURVEY

This is a voluntary survey.

Purpose of West Coast Fishery Participation Survey: This survey collects information about why you fish and the benefits you get from participating in fisheries, including non-monetary benefits. This will enable fishery managers to better understand how individuals and communities are affected when opportunities and profitability in particular fisheries change.

Researchers: Joshua Abbott (Arizona State Univ), Dan Holland (NOAA), Melissa Poe (UW Washington Sea Grant), Karma Norman (NOAA)

Contact: mpoe@uw.edu or karma.norman@noaa.gov

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 20 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 Karma Norman, National Marine Fisheries Service, 2725 Montlake Blvd East, Seattle, WA 98112-2097.

The data collected will be kept 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 of sources. 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.

1. What year were you born? ___________

2. How many years have you been involved in fishing as a paid crew member, captain and/or vessel owner?

__ Less than 5

__ 5-9

__ 10 – 14

__ 15– 19

__ 20 or more

3. How much longer do you expect to continue to fish or operate a vessel commercially?

__ Less than 5

__ 5-9

__ 10 – 14

__ 15– 19

__ 20 or more

__ as long as I can

4. Do you captain your own vessel? __ Always __Mostly __Sometimes __Never

5. What is the zip code where you live more than half the year? ­___________

6. How many immediate family members also work in the fishing industry? ___________

7. How many extended family members also work in the fishing industry? ___________

8. Besides your family, what proportion of the people that you interact with regularly (e.g., friends, social acquaintances, colleagues, business associates, etc.) work in the fishing industry? _____All _____ Most ____Some ____Few ____None

9. How many generations of commercial fishermen does your family represent? _________

10. How would you define the fishing community you feel most a part of?
    
    ___ as a place (e.g., the town you tie up your vessel, land fish, and or the town where you and your family reside)
    
    ___ as a collection of people ( e.g., the fishermen who fish in the same area or in your “radio” group, belong to the same industry association as you, or an ethnic group)
    
    ___ both place and people

___ I’m not part of a fishing community

11. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.

Statement	Strongly disagree	Somewhat disagree	Neutral	Somewhat agree	Strongly agree
Being a fisherman is important to me.	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Continuing a family tradition of fishing is important to me.	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
My fishing community is important to me.	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Continuing a community tradition of fishing is important to me.	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Fishing is a respected occupation where I live.	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Fishing is more respected where I live now than it was 15 years ago.	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

12. Please indicate your level of job satisfaction associated with each of these potential attributes of commercial fishing in terms of your own experience as a fisherman.

Attribute of Fishing	Very dissatisfied	Dissatisfied	Neutral	Satisfied	Very satisfied
Adventure of job	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Challenge of job	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Working outdoors	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Camaraderie with crew
Being on the water	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Competing with others	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Doing something worthwhile	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Producing healthy food	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Pitting skill against nature	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Being my own boss	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Working my own schedule	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Earnings from fishing	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Predictability of earnings	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Job safety	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

13. What do you consider the biggest challenge or impediment to making a living as a fisherman?

__ Natural variation in the fish available to catch

__ Variation in prices for fish or costs of inputs such as fuel, supplies or maintenance

__ Ability to access fisheries or the cost of licenses or quota

__ Regulations (please explain the specific types of regulations) _______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

__ Other Factors (please explain)

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

14. Has your fishing operation been affected by fishery closures in recent years (yes / no – please circle one)? If yes, please indicate what fishery closures.

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

15. If you answered yes to the question above, how did you respond to the closure?

__ Fished in another fishery

__ Worked in a job or business other than commercial fishing

__ Did not work in either fishery or non-fishery employment during the closure

16. Do you prefer to participate in multiple fisheries or a single fishery?

__ single fishery

__ 2 fisheries

__ 3 or more fisheries

17. Which fishery is your most important source of fishing income?

__ Dungeness Crab

__ Albacore

__ Market Squid

__ Salmon

__ Pink Shrimp

__ Pacific Whiting

__ Groundfish (fixed gear)

__ Groundfish (trawl)

__ Other (please specify) ______________

18. If that fishery were unprofitable or closed, in which other fishery would you choose to participate, or would you pursue non-fishery work?

__ Dungeness Crab

__ Albacore

__ Market Squid

__ Salmon

__ Pink Shrimp

__ Pacific Whiting

__ Groundfish (fixed gear)

__ Groundfish (trawl)

__ Other fishery (please specify fishery) _____________________________

__ Non-fishery work (specify type of work) ____________________

19. Given the choice between fishing and an alternative job for which you are qualified, would you prefer fishing or the alternative job if the expected pay for both was the same (check one)? ___Fishing __Alternative Work

20. If you answered “fishing” in question 22, how much more would the other job have to pay for you to prefer it over fishing?

__ 1-10% more

__ 11-25% more

__ 26-50 % more

__ 51-100 % more

__ Greater than 100% more

__ Would never choose another job

21. Which fishery is most important to you personally, not necessarily financially, but in terms of your identity or enjoyment?

__ Dungeness Crab

__ Albacore

__ Market Squid

__ Salmon

__ Pink Shrimp

__ Pacific Whiting

__ Groundfish (fixed gear)

__ Groundfish (trawl)

__ Other fishery (please specify) _____________________________

22. If applicable, what is the maximum number of crew you employ on your fishing boat, not including the captain? ______

23. Have you ever continued fishing in order to provide employment for crew when you thought the profits earned by the vessel might fail to cover expenses? __YES __NO

24. Do you keep your commercial catch for your own use and/or sharing with family and friends? __YES __NO [If NO, skip to Question 30]

25. Roughly how many pounds of catch do you keep each year for personal use? ______

26. How important are the following reasons for keeping some of your catch?

Reason	Not Important	Somewhat Important	Very Important
Regular household consumption
Pleasure of eating seafood I caught myself
It’s just what we do around here
To give to friends or family
To trade catch for other goods or services

27. For each species, indicate (with an “X”) if you keep catch for any of the following reasons (leave a row blank if you do not keep the catch of that species for personal use):

	Regular household consumption	Share with friends or family	Food for special occasions	There is a surplus	Other (please specify)
Dungeness Crab
Albacore
Chum Salmon
Chinook Salmon
Coho Salmon
Shrimp
Market Squid
Pacific Sardine
Halibut
Groundfish
Other

28. Over the last 3-4 years: what percentage of your household income came from commercial fishing? _________%

29. Over the last 3-4 years: what percentage of the income you personally contributed to your household was from work other than commercial fishing? ___________%

30. If you provided a positive percentage in Q29, what type of non-fishing work did you do in this period?

________________________________________________________

31. In recent years how often do you personally earn non-fishing income in each quarter?

January-March __ Always __Mostly __Sometimes __Never

April-June __ Always __Mostly __Sometimes __Never

July-September __ Always __Mostly __Sometimes __Never

October-December __ Always __Mostly __Sometimes __Never

32. What was your average annual household income over the last 3- 4 years?

__ Less than $25,000

__ $25,000 to $74,999

__ $75,000 to $124,999

__ $125,000 to $174,999

__ $175,000 or more

33. How many people are in your household? _____________

34. Do you have health insurance and, if so, how is it acquired?

__ No health insurance

__ Purchased independently

__ Provided through your fishery related job

__ Provided through your own employment other than fishing

__ Provided through another household member’s employer

__ Provided through Medicare or Medicaid

35. Would you be willing to participate in a more in-depth interview on your participation in fishing? ______ Yes ______ No

If yes please contact:

Karma Norman

Email: Karma.norman@noaa.gov

Phone: (206) 302-2418