Attitudes and Preferences about the Potential Use of Car

OMB Control No. XXXX-XXXX Expires: XX/XX/XX

Attitudes and Preferences about the Potential Use of Catch Shares in the Deep-water Snapper-Grouper Fishery.

December 2011

Dear deep-water snapper-grouper fishermen,

Thank you for agreeing to participate in our survey.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average one hour per response including the time for reviewing the instructions, searching the 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 aspects of this burden to Bob Walker, National Marine Fisheries Service, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, Florida 33149. Comments on the content of the survey should be addressed to Dr. Juan Agar, National Marine Fisheries Service, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, Florida 33149. 

This reporting is required under and is authorized under 50 CFR 622.5(a) (1) (v).  Information submitted will be treated as confidential in accordance with NOAA Administrative Order 216-100.  Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that collection displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.  The NMFS requires this information for the socio-economic assessment of the deep-water snapper fishery in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.  These data will be used to assess the socio-economic performance of the deep-water snapper fishery.

All of your information will be confidential. We will not use people’s names in our reports, or write anything that could be used to identify you. Participation in this survey is voluntary, and you do not need to answer any questions you do not wish to answer. If you agree with that, and do not have any questions, I would like to start the interview asking you some questions about your fishing practices.

SNAPPERS
Alinegra, negra	Blackfin snapper	Lutjanus buccanella
Chillo amarillo	Silk snapper	Lutjanus vivanus
Cartucho	Queen snapper	Etelis oculatus
Moniama de adentro	Wenchman	Pristipomoides aquilonaris
Moniama de afuera	Cardinal snapper	Pristipomoides macrophthalmus
Chopa negra	Black snapper	Apsilus dentatus
Rubia	Vermillion snapper	Rhombo plitesaurorobus
GROUPERS
Guasa	Misty grouper	Epinephelus mystacinus
Guajil amarillo	Yellowedge grouper	Epinephelus flavolimbatus
Mero negro	Black grouper	Mycteroperca bonaci
Guajil	Yellowfin grouper	Mycteroperca venenosa

Socio-demographic information

1. What is your role in the fishing operation?

 Captain [ w/license]  Helper [ w/license]  Other:________

2. How would you describe your level of participation?

 Year-round, full-time,

 Year-round, part-time [Subsistence  additional income]

 Seasonal, full-time [Subsistence  additional income]

 Seasonal, part-time [Subsistence  additional income]

 No longer fish

 Occasionally

3. How old are you? ____________years

4. How many years of commercial fishing experience do you have? _______ years

5. How long have you fished for deep-water snapper-grouper species? _______ years

6. What percentage of your income is derived from fishing deep-water snapper-grouper?___%

7. How long have lived in your community? ____________ years

8. Number of dependents? ___ folk(s)

9. What percentage of the following species do you catch in federal waters (greater than 9 miles from the coast)? N/A ___

Silk snapper ____ % Queen snapper ___% Vermillion snapper ___%

Blackfin snapper ____ % Wenchman ____ % Cardinal snapper ____ %

Black snapper ____ %

Misty grouper ____ % Yellowedge grouper ____ %

Black grouper ____ % Yellowfin grouper ____ %

Information about fishing practices

10. Do you believe that the landings reported by other fishermen to the trip ticket underestimate the actual landings of deep-water snapper-grouper caught?  Yes  No

11. If you agree, what percentage of the landings, do you believe are under-reported? (For example, out of 100 pounds caught, how many pounds are under-reported to the trip ticket and how many are not?) _____%

12. Why do you believe that some fishermen under-report their deep-water snapper-grouper landings?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

13. - What would be the best way to monitor landings and/or discourage under-reporting?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

14. In the last five years, how has your participation in the fishery changed (i.e., landings, fishing trips, trip duration, etc.)? Why did you make these changes?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Costs and Earnings

15. Costs and earnings information per trip during the last year.

	Main single gear ________________	single gear #2 ________________	Multiple gears Primary_______________ Secondary_____________
Trip duration	___________ days/hrs	___________ days/hrs	___________ days/hrs
Gas and oíl ($/trip)	$ __________________ ____________ gallons	$ __________________ ____________ gallons	$ __________________ ____________ gallons
Ice ($/trip)	Make own ice Yes No Depends  $ __________________	Make own ice Yes No Depends  $ __________________	Make own ice Yes No Depends  $ __________________
Bait ($/trip)	Capture own bait Yes No Depends  $__________________	Capture own bait Yes No Depends  $__________________	Capture own bait Yes No Depends  $__________________
Food ($/trip)	$ __________________	$ __________________	$ ___________________
Other costs: (________________________)	$ __________________	$ __________________	$ ___________________
Total cost ($/trip)	$ __________________	$ __________________	$ ___________________
Average revenues ($/trip)	$ __________________	$ __________________	Primary $ _____________ Secondary $___________
Net payment to crew (after costs)	% ___ Vessel %____Captain %____Helpers	% ___ Vessel %____Captain %____Helpers	% ___ Vessel %____Captain %____Helpers
Number of crew	Number of crew: _______ $______/crew/trip	Number of crew: _______ $______/crew/trip	Number of crew: _______ $______/crew/trip
Average landings of top species (lb./trip)	1: _______lbs. _____ $/lb 2: _______lbs. _____ $/lb 3: _______lbs. _____ $/lb 4: _______lbs. _____ $/lb	1: _______lbs. _____ $/lb 2: _______lbs. _____ $/lb 3: _______lbs. _____ $/lb 4: _______lbs. _____ $/lb	Prim1:______lbs. _____ $/lb Prim. 2: ______lbs. _____ $/lb Prim. 3::______lbs. _____$/lb Sec.1: _______lbs. _____ $/lb Sec. 2: ______lbs. _____ $/lb Sec.3:_______lbs. _____ $/lb

Annual round (2007-2011)

16. Please describe your participation in the deep-water snapper-grouper fishery (trips, landings and revenue)

2011

Gear: ______________

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Number of trips

Landings per trip (Lbs/trip)

Silk Snapper (lbs/trip)

Queen snapper (lbs/trip)

Other (lbs/trip) ____________ ____________ ____________

Total Revenues by trip ($/trip)

2010

Gear: ______________

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Number of trips

Landings per trip (Lbs/trip)

Silk Snapper (lbs/trip)

Queen snapper (lbs/trip)

Other (lbs/trip) ____________ ____________ ____________

Total Revenues by trip ($/trip)

2009

Gear: ______________

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Number of trips

Landings per trip (Lbs/trip)

Silk Snapper (lbs/trip)

Queen snapper (lbs/trip)

Other (lbs/trip) ____________ ____________ ____________

Total Revenues by trip ($/trip)

2008

Gear: ______________

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Number of trips

Landings per trip (Lbs/trip)

Silk Snapper (lbs/trip)

Queen snapper (lbs/trip)

Other (lbs/trip) ____________ ____________ ____________

Total Revenues by trip ($/trip)

2007

Gear: ______________

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Number of trips

Landings per trip (Lbs/trip)

Silk Snapper (lbs/trip)

Queen snapper (lbs/trip)

Other (lbs/trip) ____________ ____________ ____________

Total Revenues by trip ($/trip)

Vessel information

17. Vessel characteristics

Variables	Vessel # 1 (Principal)	Vessel # 2	Vessel # 3
Boat’s ownership	Yes No Co-owners (#__)	Yes No Co-owners (#__)	Yes No Co-owners (#__)
Construction date
Length (ft.)
Hull type	 Wood	 Wood	 Wood
	 Fiberglass	 Fiberglass	 Fiberglass
	 Wood y fiber	 Wood y fiber	 Wood y fiber
	 Aluminum	 Aluminum	 Aluminum
	 Other : ________	 Other : ________	 Other : ________
Engines	 Outboard _____	 Outboard _____	 Outboard _____
	 Inboard ______	 Inboard ______	 Inboard ______
	 Combo ______	 Combo ______	 Combo ______
Propulsion (HP)	Motor # 1 ____ HP	Motor # 1 ____ HP	Motor # 1 ____ HP
	Motor # 2 ____ HP	Motor # 2 ____ HP	Motor # 2 ____ HP
Electric equipment (quantity)	GPS ____	GPS ____	GPS ____
	Depth finder ____	Depth finder ____	Depth finder ____
	Fish finder ____	Fish finder ____	Fish finder ____
	Radio-teléfono ____	Radio-teléfono ____	Radio-teléfono ____
	EPIRB ____	EPIRB ____	EPIRB ____
Fishing equipment (quantity)	Winch ____	Winch ____	Winch ____
	Electric reel ____	Electric reel ____	Electric reel ____
	Hydraulic reel ____	Hydraulic reel ____	Hydraulic reel ____

Attitudes and Perceptions towards the Catch Shares

18. In your opinion, what is the main problem or issue that impact the deep-water snapper fishery?

Biological problems

 There are no biological problems  Overfishing  By-catch of juveniles

 Other (explain):___________________________________________________________________

Socio-economic problems

 There are no socio-econ problems  High fuel costs  Low seafood prices

 Crowding of fishing grounds  Difficulty finding suitable crew  User conflicts (explain)

 Other (explain): ___________________________________________________________________

Other problems

 There are no other problems

 Poor safety at sea  Low quota levels  Over-zealous enforcement

 Ineffective regs.  Poor compliance w/ regs.  Uncertainty about future regs.

 Other (explain): _______________________________________________________________________

19. Are you familiar with the proposed catch share program?  Yes  No

If you answer yes, then what do you perceive to be the advantages of the program?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

[If unfamiliar with program, skip to question 32]

20. Do you support the catch share program?  Yes  No  Undecided

What are the main reasons why you support, oppose or are undecided about the program?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

21. Do you have any concerns about the catch share program?  Yes  No

If you answer yes, which are your main concerns?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

22. Do you believe that additional education on the details of the catch share program is necessary?  Yes  No

If you answer yes, which topics would you like covered?

 General knowledge about the program

 What are the requirements to participate and acquire catch shares (quotas)?

 Should a ‘share (or quota) fund’ for new entrants be established?

 What would be the criteria used for initial allocation of quotas?

 What are the anticipated advantages and disadvantages of the program?

 How would landings be monitored and enforced?

 How would a program impact the condition of the fisheries?

 What would be the mechanism(s) for setting the TAC?

______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Preferences about the design of the catch share program

23. Who do you believe should receive an initial allocation? [Check all that apply]

 Vessel owners  Captains  Helpers

 Members of fish coops  Recreational fishermen  Charters

 Dealers  Others:________________________

24. Which criteria should be applied to the initial assignment of shares? [Check all that apply]

 Landings history (established by trip tickets submitted to the Fisheries Lab)

 Participation in the fishery (established by the possession of a valid license)

 Established employment in the harvesting and/or processing sector

 Fishing investment (established by the ownership of fishing vessels, fishing gear, etc.)

 Fishing dependence (established by the type of license held (full-time, part-time) )

 Lack of violations or infractions

 Information provided in this survey

 Other: ___________________________________________________________________

25. Should the sale of catch shares be allowed?  Yes  No  Undecided

26. Should the rental of catch shares be allowed?  Yes  No  Undecided

27. What is the dockside price and the maximum you will be willing to pay for renting a share that allow you to land one pound of

Species	Market Price ($/lb)	Disposition (whole, gutted)	Rental of share that allow us you to land pound of fish ($/lb.)
Silk snapper
Queen snapper
Other:

28. Should there be restrictions for buying, selling and renting catch shares between people?

 No. Anybody, including folks not related to the fishing industry, could buy/sell or rent shares.

 Yes. Only fishermen or corporations with licenses could buy/sell, or rent shares.

 Yes. Only fishermen or corporations with licenses and crew could buy/sell, or rent shares.

 Yes. Only fishermen or corporations with licenses, crew, and dealers could buy/sell, or rent shares.

 Yes. Other restrictions: __________________________________________________

 Undecided.

29. Should there be restrictions for buying/selling, and renting shares across municipalities or regions (e.g., West vs. North coast) to protect traditional fishing practices and fishing communities?

 No, there should be no restrictions to the purchase, sale or rental of catch shares.

 Yes. Only those folks with catch history in the regions (independently of where they live) should be able to buy, sell or rent shares.

 Yes. Only those folks who live in the municipality or region could buy, sell, or rent shares.

 Yes. Other restrictions:____________________________________________________

 Undecided.

30. What percentage of the quota should be set aside to provide shares to new entrants? Percentage (1-100%) ____%

Anticipated outcomes	Strongly Agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly agree	Don’t know/NA
My financial condition will improve						
Prices of deep-water snapper and groupers will increase						
Fluctuation in deep-water snapper and groupers prices will decrease						
My operating costs will decrease (fuel, bait)						
Fishing will become more orderly						
Fishing will become more flexible and efficient						
Fishing ground will become less crowded						
Fishing season will be lengthened						
Less fishing equipment will be lost						
Discarding of fish will decline						
Will help rebuild the resource						
Safety at sea will improve						
Compliance with fishing regulations will improve						
Coastal communities that depend on this fishery will suffer						
It will be more difficult to enter the fishery						

31. Do you believe that the catch share program will bring about the following outcomes?

Performance of existing regulations

32. Do you think that the closure for silk snapper (Oct 1- Dec 31) has been effective to recover the resources?  Yes  No  Indecisive

Why?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

33. Did you initially support the gill and trammel net ban? □ Yes □ No Why?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

34. Do you support the gill and trammel net ban now? □ Yes □ No

Why?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

35. What were the main impacts of the gill and trammel net ban?

1. Biological (improve parrotfish populations, minimize by catch):

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

2. Fishing practices (gear switching, new areas, species target):

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

3. Economic (start-up costs, forgone income) :

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

4. Social (user conflicts):

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

5. Community:

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

6. Livehood:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

36. Do you believe the buyback was fair? □ Yes □ No

Why? Were fishermen properly compensated?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

37. How the buyback could have been improved? What could be done differently?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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