USVI Small-Scale Fisheries Economic Survey

File Name: 119214901

OMB Control No: 0648-0773 Expiration Date: XX/XX/20XX

USVI Small-Scale Fisheries Economic Survey

Name:______________________ Permit #:______________________

Telephone: __________________ E-mail: ____________________

Please complete this brief survey. Enter “0” in categories where you had no such expenses in 202X.

1. What percentage of your household income was from commercial fishing in 202X? _________%

2. If not 100%, what non-commercial fishing activities did you engage in for income? _______________________________________________________________

Vessels:

3. Did you own AND operate a fishing vessel in 202X? ____Yes ____No

If No, which best described you in 202X?

____Captain on someone else’s boat ____Vessel owner, not operator

4. How many fishing vessels did you own? In 202X _______

Boat Number	Length (ft.)	Current Market (sale) Value of Vessel and Engines ($)	Repair and Maintenance Costs in 202X ($)
1
2
3

Diving Gear: In 202X, did you own…

Gear and associated fishing equipment	Today’s market (sale) value of fishing gear and associated equipment ($)	Repair and maintenance costs incurred in 202X
SCUBA (tanks, BC, spear, etc.)
Free diving (fins, masks, spear, etc.)

Traps: In 202X, did you own…

Type of trap	Number of traps owned at the end of 202X	Number lost or retired in 202X	Number purchased or made in 202X	Cost per trap (w/ buoys, rope, etc.)	Average life span of trap not lost or retired (in months)
Fish traps
Lobster traps

Hook and line: In 202X, did you own…

Gear and associated fishing equipment	Today’s market (sale) value of fishing gear and associated equipment ($)	Repair and maintenance costs incurred in 202X
Fishing Rods & reels
Longlines

Trip Expenses in 202X:

On a regular fishing trip, how much did you spend on each of the following?

5. Fuel and oil cost: $ __________ Gallons used per trip: ________

6. Truck fuel: $__________

7. Ice: $___________

8. Bait: $__________

9. Food and beverage: $_______________

10. Air supply: $________________

11. Captain and crew: $______________ Number of crew: _____________ (if you use a share system, convert it to dollars)

12. Other expenses: $_______________ What were they:_____________________

In 202X, how much did you spend on each of the following?

	Annual ($)
Mooring/dockage fees
Fishing, boat, and trailer licenses
Office expenses (rent, cellular, utilities)
Professional services (lawyer or accountant)
Loan Payments

13. How have you changed your fishing activities due to COVID-19 in 202X?

14. What are the main reasons you made those changes in 202X?

15. Did you substantially change your fishing activities in 202X?  No  Yes

If YES, please answer the following questions.

15a. How did you change your fishing activities in 202X?

15b. What were the main reasons you made those changes?

15c. By how much did each of the following increase or decrease for your vessel(s) in 202X due to those changes? (Please enter “0” if there was no change)

Landings decreased by ______% OR increased by______%

Fishing revenues decreased by ______% OR increased by______%

Total operating costs decreased by ______% OR increased by______%

Number of crew members decreased by # __ crew OR increased by #__ crew

16. Did you substantially change your non-fishing activities in 202X?  No  Yes

If YES, please answer the following questions.

16a. How did you change your non-fishing activities in 202X?_

16b. What were the main reasons you made those changes?

NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) is collecting this economic information to improve its ability to conduct the analyses required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) and other applicable law. The SEFSC and the Caribbean Fishery Management Council will use this information to monitor, explain and predict changes in the economic performance and impacts of the USVI commercial fisheries. Among other things, this will enable fisheries managers and the public to more fully consider the economic effects of proposed and existing regulations for these important fisheries.

A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with an information collection subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 unless the information collection has a currently valid OMB Control Number. The approved OMB Control Number for this information collection is 0648-0773 and its expiration data is XX/XX/20XX. Without this approval, we could not conduct this information collection. Public reporting for this information collection is estimated to be approximately 15 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the information collection. All responses to this information collection are voluntary. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this information collection, including suggestions for reducing this burden to the Southeast Fisheries Science Center, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Bldg. 1, Miami, FL 33149-1003 Attn: Dr. Scott Crosson, at 305-361-4468, scott.crosson@noaa.gov

We appreciate the confidential nature of the data being collected by this survey. The SEFSC will handle individual survey data as confidential business information and a form of protected personal information and will maintain the confidentiality of the information consistent with legal authorities available to it, including but not limited to the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. Section 552a) and the Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. Section 1905). The SEFSC will protect individual survey data from public disclosure to the extent permitted by law and it has instituted procedures to provide that protection.