HMS Tournament Participant Survey

2016 Atlantic HMS Tournaments Survey
Angling Team Expenses

Photo Credits: NOAA

Your response is important!
About this survey:
Recreational fisheries are important to the national economy, with saltwater angler expenditures
contributing to $56 billion in total economic output annually. While billfish tournaments have been surveyed
as recently as the 1990s, this survey has never before been conducted for all Atlantic highly migratory
species (HMS) tournaments. The responses to this survey will be entered into an economics model that will
show how the money spent at HMS tournaments goes into the community sectors, such as restaurants, hotels,
tackle and bait shops, marinas, and other businesses. This information is critical for fishery managers to
identify potential impacts that regulations may have on fishing communities, and to take measures that
protect the economic success of local businesses.
Please take a moment to complete this survey (estimated 15 minutes). Thank you for helping NOAA
sustainably manage our nation's marine resources.

Questions?
[email protected]

Section A:

Your Most Recent HMS Fishing Tournament

Highly migratory species (HMS) are sharks, tunas, swordfish, and billfishes. Please tell us about your
most recent highly migratory species fishing tournament.


This is a voluntary survey. You responses will be protected. Results of this survey will only be released for public use in aggregate statistical form.



This survey should be completed by the team captain or vessel owner for one tournament only.
 If you participated in another tournament, please complete a separate survey for that event.
 Note: A day of tournament fishing is any portion of a day spent fishing in an HMS tournament.
#

1.

Tournament Name:_________________________________

2.

From which type of vessel did you fish?
(If you used more than one vessel, please select the type you used the most)
X Charter boat
Length: ______
HP: _______

X

Private boat
Length: ______
HP: _______

Month:

# Year:

#

#

#

#

From where did you launch or board the vessel to fish in the tournament?
City or town:____________________________
State: ________________

4.

How many days and nights did you spend tournament fishing?

# # Nights:
Which highly migratory species did you target in this tournament? (Select all that apply)
Days:

X

Bigeye tuna

X

Marlins

X

Pelagic sharks

X

X

Sailfish

X

Coastal sharks

X

Albacore tuna
Skipjack tuna

X

Swordfish

X

X

Yellowfin tuna

X

Bluefin tuna

Other species: ___________________
___________________

6.

How many members of your fishing team took time off from work without pay to participate in this
tournament? # #

7.

Including yourself, how many people...
Traveled with you to the tournament (family/friends):
Were on your fishing team:

8.

#

#

X Other: __________________________

3.

5.

#

#

#

#

Was this tournament participation part of a longer trip in which you spent at least one night away from
your permanent or seasonal residence? X Yes
X No (skip to Section B)
Number of nights (total) you were away from your residence on this trip:
Number of non-tournament days you went fishing:

#

#

# (Count partial days as full days)

Number of non-tournament overnight fishing trips you took:
8a.

#

#

# (Total number of nights)

What was the primary purpose of this trip away from home? (Please select only one)
X Fishing in this tournament

X Vacation or other personal reasons
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X Business

Section B:

Tournament Trip Expenses

For this tournament, how much did your team spend for the following items?
If you answered “yes” to question 8, please provide your expenses for the entire trip.
Team Expense: Please round to the nearest dollar.
State: The U.S. state where the majority of the money was spent.

Type of Expense

Team Expense

State

Fees: tournament, jackpot, or derby entry

$ _____________.00

___________

Grocery or convenience stores (food and drink)

$ _____________.00

___________

Restaurants and bars (food and drink)

$ _____________.00

___________

Parking, boat slip rental, and site access fees

$ _____________.00

___________

Fuel: Auto, truck, or RV

$ _____________.00

___________

Rental: Auto, truck, or RV

$ _____________.00

___________

Bait

$ _____________.00

___________

Ice

$ _____________.00

___________

Boat fuel and oil

$ _____________.00

___________

Boat rental

$ _____________.00

___________

Party, charter, or guide fees

$ _____________.00

___________

Lodging (hotels, motels, campgrounds, etc.)

$ _____________.00

___________

Entertainment

$ _____________.00

___________

Public transportation

$ _____________.00

___________

Airfare

$ _____________.00

___________

Fishing permits bought during the tournament trip

$ _____________.00

___________

Other ________________________

$ _____________.00

___________

If you had none of the above expenses, X here: X

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Section C:

Tackle and Durable Equipment Expenses

For this tournament, how much did your team spend for the following items?
Team Expense: Please round to the nearest dollar, and put “0” if there was no expense.
Percent Spent In-State: The percent of your team expense spent in the state in which the
tournament was held (0-100%).

Type of Expense

Team Expense

Percent Spent In-State

Rods, poles, reels and
components for rod-making

$__________.00

__________%

Tackle and gear
(lures, hooks, leaders, sinkers, flies and fly tying
supplies, fishing line, tackle boxes, nets, knives,
gaffs, etc.)

$__________.00

__________%

Electronics
(video cameras, GPS, radars, radios, satellite communications, vessel instruments, fishfinders,
EPIRBs/PLBs, etc.)

$ __________.00

__________%

If you had none of the above expenses, X here: X

Section D:

About You

Different anglers may have different spending patterns. The following questions will help us to ensure
that we have a representative sample of anglers, and to see how expenditure patterns may vary.
Your answers are strictly confidential.
1. About you:
X Male

X

Female

Birth Year:

#

#

#

#

Number of years you’ve been saltwater fishing: #

#

Number of years you’ve participated in saltwater fishing tournaments: # #
2. During the past 12 months...
Number of HMS tournaments you have participated in: #
Number of days you went fishing for HMS:

#

#

Number of days you went fishing for any species:

#
#

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#

#

#

Thank You for Completing This Survey!
If you would like information on prior surveys or economic information related to marine recreational
angling, please visit our website at http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st5/RecFishEcon.html.

Please write any additional comments or expenses we may have missed:

OMB Control No. XXXX‐XXXX. Expira on Date: XX/XX/XXXX. 
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 George Silva, NOAA Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Hwy., Silver Spring, MD 20910.
This is a voluntary survey. To the extent authorized by law, responses will be protected and will not be released for public use except in aggregate statistical form that
protects privacy and business information. 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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