West Coast Fisheries Participation Survey

2023 West Coast Fisheries Participation Survey

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. OMB Control Number: 0648-0749, expiration: XX/XX/20XX.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 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 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.

1. What year were you born (in yyyy format)? _________________________________

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 years      ❑ 5–9

❑ 10 – 14                      ❑ 15 – 19

❑ 20 or more                 ❑ As long as I can

❑ No longer fishing (Continue answering questions to the best of your ability)

4. Do you captain your own vessel?

❑ Always ❑ Mostly ❑ Sometimes ❑ Never

5. What is the zip code where you live for most of the year?___________

6. What is the county where you live for most of the year?___________

7. How many immediate family members also work in the fishing industry? _____________________________

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

9. 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?

❑ None  ❑ Few  ❑ Some  ❑ Most  ❑ All 

10. How many generations of commercial fishermen does your family represent?  _________________________________ 

11. 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, oran ethnic group)

❑ Both place and people

❑ I’m not part of a fishing community

12. 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

13. 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

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

Statement	Strongly Disagree	Somewhat Disagree	Neutral	Somewhat Agree	Strongly Agree
I have adequate information about fishing season projections to make decisions about my annual operations
I have adequate opportunity to participate in fisheries management processes
My fishery interests are represented and considered in decision-making

15. Please estimate the distance you travel from your homeport to obtain the following services/supplies for your vessel(s).  If you do not use a category listed, please select N/A.  If you do not travel by vehicle or vessel, please write a 0 in the distance column for that mode of transport.  Please select an answer for each category. 

Description	Distance by vehicle (miles)	Distance by vessel (miles)	NA
Ice/Bait
Gear (Nets/Pots/Traps/Line)
Fuel
Processors/Buyers
Dry Dock/Boatyard
Refrigeration/Warehouse Facilities

16. If your fishing operation has been impacted by a fishery closure implemented in the last two years, how did you respond?

If yes, please indicate what fishery closure. ___________________________________________

❑ Was not impacted 

❑ Fished in another fishery

❑ Worked in a job or business other than commercial fishing

❑ Both fished in another fishery and worked in a job or business other than commercial fishing

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

17. 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

 

18. If you answered “Fishing” in question 16, 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

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

20. If applicable, indicate your level of agreement with the statement “I can find the skilled crew I need to run my fishing operation.”

❑ Strongly disagree 

❑ Somewhat disagree 

❑ Neutral

❑ Somewhat agree

❑ Strongly agree 

21. Do you ever self-market your catch or otherwise sell your catch through direct seafood marketing channels*?

❑ Yes -> proceed to question 22

❑ No -> proceed to question 23

*Direct seafood marketing is selling your catch to someone further up the value chain than a fish buyer or local seafood processing plant

22. Provide the following percentages to describe how your commercial fishing operation uses direct marketing channels.

0. The percent of your work time spent self-marketing your catch is ______%

1. The percent of your operation’s total revenue that is generated from selling fish through direct marketing channels is: _______%

2. The percent increase in the price you receive from selling your catch through direct marketing channels compared to selling to the local processing plant is: _______%
   
   

23. How likely would you be to increase your use of direct seafood marketing if the following changes occurred?  

Statement	Very Unlikely	Unlikely	Neutral	Likely	Very Likely
New cold storage facilities become available near your fish landing port
New seafood processing facilities become available that fishers can rent to process their own catch into marketable seafood products
New alternatives for shipping and delivery of your catch become available
A new cooperative is formed among fishers to assist them with finding buyers, advertising, and setting prices for direct marketing of their catch
The processors you sell to are willing to pay less for your catch while retail market prices remain constant

24. 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

25. Do you keep some of your commercial catch for your own use and/or sharing with family and friends? 

❑ Yes   ❑ No 

If yes, roughly how many pounds of catch do you keep each year for personal use? __________________

 

26. In 2022, what percentage of your household income came from commercial fishing? __________________%

27. In 2022, what percentage of the income you personally contributed to your household was from work other than commercial fishing? __________________%

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

period?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

29. Place an “x” next to the months when you earned non-fishing income in 2022?

❑ January–March     ❑ April–June

❑ July–September    ❑ October–December

30. Including yourself, how many people are in your household? ____________

31. What was your approximate household income in 2022?

❑ Less than $25,000  

❑ $25,000 to $49,999 

❑ $50,000 to $74,999 

❑ $75,000 to $99,999 

❑ $100,000 to $124,999 

❑ $125,000 to $149,999 

❑ $150,000 or more

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

❑ No health insurance

❑ Purchased independently 

❑ Provided through fishery related job

❑ Provided through your own employment other than fishing

❑ Provided through another household member’s employer

❑ Provided by Medicare or Medicaid

33. Do you identify with any of the following groups that the federal government, in has identified as underserved? Check all that apply

❑ Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and other persons of color

❑ Members of religious minorities

❑ Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons

❑ Persons with disabilities

❑ Persons who live in rural areas

❑ Persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality

❑ Persons who belong to multiple such communities listed above

❑ No, I do not identify with any of these groups