0693 SS Part A 2017_final

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

MARINE RECREATIONAL FISHING EXPENDITURE SURVEY

OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-0693

A. JUSTIFICATION

This request is for extension and revision of a currently approved information collection. Minor changes to the survey instruments are described in A15.

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) manages recreational fisheries, under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 as amended through 2006 (MSA). National Standard 2 under the MSA Sec 301.98-623 requires the use of the best scientific information available. Sec. 303, 109-479 specifies that a fishery impact statement for the plan or amendment must assess, specify and analyze the likely effects, including the social, conservation and economic impacts of conservation and management measures for participants in the fishery and fishing communities.

Marine recreational fishing is a popular pastime across the United States (U.S.) that generates significant economic impacts to both local economies and to the nation. The primary objectives of this data collection are to collect trip expenditures for an angler’s most recent marine recreational fishing trip and to collect annual expenditures on durable goods used for marine recreational fishing. Additional objectives include obtaining a profile of the most recent marine recreational fishing trip and collecting demographic information on marine recreational anglers. Statistical expansion of the sample expenditure data to the larger population requires trip profile and demographic data.

As specified in the MSA, NMFS is required to enumerate the economic impacts of the policies it implements on fishing participants and coastal communities. In order to routinely fulfill this mandate and in recognition of the economic importance of recreational fisheries, NOAA conducts nationwide angler expenditure surveys on marine recreational anglers. The survey data are then used to estimate the economic contributions of marine recreational fishing to a region’s economy. The proposed data collection will be a continuation with slight modifications of the data collection approved under OMB Control No. 0648-0693. NOAA will conduct a nationwide survey to gather marine recreational fishing expenditures across the United States. NMFS has conducted nationwide surveys in 2006, 2011, and 2014. A current nationwide survey is underway in 2016 and is planned to continue in 2017. Before 2006, three regional surveys were conducted starting in 1998 with the Northeast Region, the Southeast Region in 1999, and the Pacific Region in 2000.

The purpose of this data collection is to gather expenditure data nationwide from marine anglers in all coastal states. These data will be used to estimate total angler expenditures and the economic impacts of marine recreational fisheries in each of these states and nationwide. The population targeted by the economic survey will be marine recreational anglers, 16 years of age and older, who fish in these states.

2. Explain how, by whom, how frequently, and for what purpose the information will be used. If the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to support information that will be disseminated to the public, then explain how the collection complies with all applicable Information Quality Guidelines.

The information will provide fisheries managers with quantitative information on expenditures made by recreational marine anglers on recreational fishing trips and related durable equipment. Fishery Management Council staff and staff from NOAA Fisheries may refer to the information periodically to understand the economic contributions of recreational anglers to the economy of their state and region, and with regard to future decisions concerning fisheries management, they may refer to the information to anticipate the economic impacts stemming from particular management decisions.

Expenditure and angler characteristics data are used to provide descriptive and behavioral information on marine recreational fishing participants; provide estimates of the value of important recreational fisheries; estimate the contribution of recreational fisheries to regional economies; and estimate the impact of fisheries regulations on regional economies.

The survey will collect information on 1) expenditures on the angler’s most recent fishing trips by fishing mode (shore, private boat, for-hire), 2) trip characteristics, 3) expenditures on durable equipment used for marine recreational fishing, and 4) angler demographic information. The survey will be conducted as two components in most states. One component will focus on trip expenditures and the second component on annual durable good expenditures. The economic questionnaire regarding trip expenditures will include questions such as location information of primary residence (zip code), date(s) of most recent fishing trip(s), mode of fishing (e.g., shore, private boat, or for-hire vessel), target species or type of fishing gear used, location of trip, level of fishing effort, whether or not anglers were on an overnight trip, number of people fishing together, length of trip, the primary purpose of the entire overnight trip (fishing, business, or personal), and the number of total trips in the past 12 months or totals by mode. Anglers will be asked to estimate their expenditures for their entire trip (not just for the days spent fishing). These may include costs such as auto fuel, auto rental, public transportation (airfare, bus, taxi, subway, ferry), lodging, food (from grocery stores and from restaurants), bait, ice, boat fuel, guide fees, tips to crew, fish processing, gifts or souvenirs, and tournament expenses. For the states where NOAA Fisheries or its partners conduct an access point angler-intercept survey (APAIS), a one-page economic add-on will be added to the existing catch survey questionnaire approved under OMB Control No. 0648-0659 and will be conducted in two month waves throughout the year. Respondents will also be asked to estimate the proportion of their total expenditure that was spent in the state or sub-state region of the fishing trip¹. In those states where the APAIS survey is not conducted (Texas, Louisiana, California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska) state angler license frames will be utilized to contact anglers via a dual mode web/mail survey. Note that starting in 2014, the APAIS is no longer conducted in LA; instead the state is conducting their own intercept survey, so LA will now be included as part of the mail/web frame. The web/mail survey of anglers will be conducted in two month waves to ensure a representative sample of trip expenditure data from throughout the year. Expenditure results will be calculated by state and fishing mode for trip expenditures.

Questions related to the purchases of durable goods in the prior 12 months will focus on expenditures in the state of licensure. The survey will ask about expenditures on semi-durable goods such as fishing tackle and gear (fishing line, hooks, lures, etc.), rods and reels, fishing licenses, special clothing, publications (books, magazines, newspapers, etc.), camping equipment, binoculars, dues and contributions to fishing clubs, and processing or taxidermy costs, and expenses related to boats, vehicles, and second homes used for marine fishing. Boat-related expenditures include purchases of motorboats and accessories, non-motorized boats, boating electronics, mooring and storage, boat insurance, boat and trailer license and registration, and boat and trailer maintenance and repairs. Similar questions will be asked about vehicles and second homes used for marine recreational fishing in the past 12 months (purchase, repair and maintenance, insurance, and license/registration for vehicles). The final section of the mail survey will collect a set of socioeconomic and demographic variables, including gender, age, ethnicity, race, annual household income, education level, number of hours worked per week, and the years of marine fishing experience. The sample frame for the durable good expenditure questions will be angler license frames in all coastal states except Hawaii and the survey will be conducted as a dual mode with web/mail. Survey questionnaires will be similar in most states except for cover photos, state name, and reference to expenditures made in the specific state. Expenditures on durables will be reported by state/resident status (resident or non-resident of the state where fishing).

A combined form for trip and durable expenditures for private boat/shore anglers and a separate form for charter anglers will be used in Hawaii to appropriately address unique issues in identifying saltwater anglers in that state. The state of Hawaii does not require marine non-commercial fishermen to obtain a fishing license. This lack of a survey population frame complicates non-commercial fishing research and requires local researchers to be creative in developing a survey population and limits the frequency for which surveys can be fielded for this population. The sample frame for this survey will be crafted through the use of vessel and angler registries maintained by the State of Hawaii and NOAA Fisheries and each of these registries vary in their coverage and scope. As was the case in previous survey treatments (2006 and 2011), the State of Hawaii Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) does not sample the charter/for-hire mode, necessitating the use of alternative methods to sample charter boat patrons. Following established methodologies and efforts implemented in the 2006 and 2011 Hawaii recreational fishing expenditure surveys, charter patron volunteer participants will be collected with assistance from a contracted outside vendor. Hawaii charter fishing trips occur on a daily basis at designated ports. Charter operators run half-day and full-day charters on rather consistent schedules, making it easy to know when charter patrons will return to port. NMFS will randomize sample visits based on port, day of the week, and trip type (half day, full day) and on a given sample day collect contact information from willing charter boat patrons for inclusion in the survey population. In Hawaii, NMFS will combine trip expenditures and durable good expenditures on the same survey form in an effort to minimize burden to the fishing community, and to allow a comparable temporal scale for economic impact estimates from both trip and durable good expenditures. Collection of trip or durable expenditures separately would require two different survey efforts as opposed to one data collection. The combined form has been reduced in length than a combined form would be for the other states, due to some questions not being as applicable or useful in Hawaii based on feedback from local NMFS staff. We removed the majority of questions on expenses related to vehicles used for saltwater fishing and second home related expenses. We kept only one of the vehicle related expenditures, which now is one question on vehicle upgrades (tires, lift, racks, suspension). In 1996, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act’s National Standard 8 (NS8) specified that conservation and management measures take into account the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities, to provide for their sustained participation in fisheries and to minimize adverse economic impacts. Section C of the survey affords us the opportunity to monitor the demographics of the non-commercial fishing community in the State of Hawaii, understand the social and cultural value of fishing in the community, and the scale of fish being caught by non-commercial fishermen. These questions mirror questions asked in previous versions of this survey (2006 and 2011) providing value in consistent monitoring over time.

These new questions are: size of the household, how many household members fished, total catch of fish in the prior 12 months in Hawaii, how important the fish are as a source of food, and the use of the fish caught in the prior 12 months in terms of caught and released, eaten, shared with friends or family, or sold. Based on these additional questions, and the removal of some others, that the estimated time to complete the survey is roughly the same as comparable durable goods questionnaire in the other states, which is 8 pages long, versus the 6 for Hawaii.

It is anticipated that the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to support publicly disseminated information as with the results of previous angler expenditure surveys. NOAA Fisheries will retain control over the information and safeguard it from improper access, modification, and destruction, consistent with NOAA standards for confidentiality, privacy, and electronic information. See response to Question 10 of this Supporting Statement for more information on confidentiality and privacy. The information collection is designed to yield data that meet all applicable information quality guidelines. Prior to dissemination, the information will be subjected to quality control measures and a pre-dissemination review pursuant to Section 515 of Public Law 106‑554.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological techniques or other forms of information technology.

The survey will be conducted as a dual/mode survey for that portion that relies on license frames. For the license frame surveys, respondents with an email addresses from angler fishing license databases will first receive an email invitation to the web survey. They will be provided with a unique username and password that takes them directly to the survey using a secure server. If after 3 days, they do not respond, an email reminder will be sent, and another reminder after 1 week. At that time, if there is still no response, they will be routed into the mail sample and receive a hardcopy in the mail. Mail cover letters will also include a link to the web survey with a secure username and password if they prefer at that time to use the web-based version instead of mailing back the paper copy. Data entered via the web will be captured electronically at the time of entry, and should reduce errors in compiling the data in comparison to the mail surveys where data may behand entered by data entry staff.

The data that will be collected via the dual mode part of the mail survey will use automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological techniques such as a mail merge to create personalized cover letters and mailing labels. The cover letter will involve the merging of the sampling database with prepared cover letters to create a personalized introduction to the survey. Survey responses for mail surveys will be automatically captured through optical character recognition (OCR), which will greatly increase the accuracy and efficiency of data collection.

The data collected via the angler intercept in-person survey has typically been recorded on paper but in the future may involve interviewers recording responses directly onto laptop computers.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.

Based on discussions with other NOAA economists, there is no duplication of effort within NOAA. This is the only nationwide angler expenditure survey conducted that gathers information on both trip and durable expenditures by marine recreational anglers. The Alaska Science Center has in the past collected similar information for anglers fishing in specific Alaskan regions, but includes only a portion of the state.

The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) of the U.S. Department of the Interior conducts the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (OMB Control No. 1018-0088) every 5 years. This survey collects similar information about angler expenditures within the context of additional recreation activities (such as freshwater fishing and hunting). That survey does not provide the same detail in terms of different expenditure categories as in the NOAA Fisheries survey and also does not provide the same spatial or temporal resolution regarding the most recent trip expenditures that allow for more detailed expenditure analysis needed by fisheries managers.

5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities, describe the methods used to minimize burden.

Not applicable. Individuals or households are the respondents.

6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently.

As stated above, NOAA Fisheries is required to collect economic data that can be used to describe the economic impacts and effects on local communities and participants from changes in fisheries management policies. It is vital to collect expenditure data via a survey of anglers because there are no other sources of this information for marine anglers. Without this type of information, fisheries managers will not be able to assess the economic impacts that result from changes in recreational fisheries policies and therefore, the effects on local and regional communities. NOAA Fisheries uses the results of the expenditure survey to provide annual estimates of the economic impacts of marine recreational fishing in its publication “Fisheries Economics of the United States”; therefore, without a recurring, periodic survey, NOAA Fisheries will be unable to update the annual estimates with recent data and will have to rely on data from previous surveys that will be out of date.

7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.

The collection will be conducted in a manner consistent with OMB Guidelines.

8. Provide a copy of the PRA Federal Register notice that solicited public comments on the information collection prior to this submission. Summarize the public comments received in response to that notice and describe the actions taken by the agency in response to those comments. Describe the efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and record keeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.

A Federal Register Notice published on October 21, 2016 (81 FR 72779) solicited public comment.

Two comments were received in response to the Federal Register Notice. The first commenter had no substantive comments, and did not request any changes. The second stated that they found the data to be unique across the federal government, and necessary for understanding economic impacts of recreational fishing. They made a suggestion that a web version be made available if possible and that a question be added about the number of children in the party. In terms of a web version, that is already approved under the existing OMB approval. The number of children in the party is not a necessary data item for calculating expenditures and therefore would add additional questions that would increase the burden hours with little benefit. NMFS staff spoke with the commenter and the commenter agreed that asking about children was not actually relevant to this data collection.

For the previous data collections (2006, 2011), meetings were held with industry stakeholders (e.g., recreational fishing group representatives) to discuss the objectives of the survey and the need to conduct the survey at regular intervals. In addition, numerous presentations about the survey objectives and results were given both during and after the previous surveys (in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 201, 2014, 2015, 2016) at conferences of academic fisheries economists, regional fisheries commission meetings, and industry/constituent- based workshops.

9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

No payments or gifts are made.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

As stated on the survey instruments, the data collected will be kept anonymous and will not be released for public use except in aggregate statistical form. If the individual survey data are requested, it will be provided without identification as to its source

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.

There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Provide an estimate in hours of the burden of the collection of information.

The trip based expenditure portion of the survey that is based on the Access-Point Angler Intercept Survey sample will result in approximately 64,800 responses (90,000 respondents to the APAIS*72% response rate to the economic add-on) resulting in a total estimated annualized burden of 1,800 hours (64,800/3)*5 minutes / 60 minutes = 1,800) ². The time to complete the survey, 5 minutes, is based on feedback from field interviewers. The expected number of respondents is based on the results of previous angler intercept surveys in the regions the APAIS is conducted (Maine – Alabama). The trip based expenditure mail/web survey for CA, OR, WA, TX, LA, and AK is estimated to result in 5,004 responses based on an estimated number of anglers and with stratification by state and type of trip (shore, private boat, for-hire), resulting in annualized burden hours of 222 hours ((5,004/3)*8 minutes/60 minutes =222). We anticipate a response rate of approximately 35% for the trip expenditure survey done by mail, based on prior mail expenditure surveys. For the Hawaii combined form, we expect 556 responses for an annualized burden hours of 46 hours ((556/3)*15 minutes/60 minutes=46). For the HI charter trip form, we expect 278 responses for an annualized burden hours of 7.7 hours ((278/3)*5 minutes/60 minutes=7.7).

For the durable good based component of the survey, conducted via mail survey, approximately 12,788 responses are expected for an annualized total of 1,065.7 hours ((12,788/3)*15 minutes/60 minutes). We anticipate a response rate of approximately 35% for the durable good mail component, based on prior mail expenditure surveys.

Estimates of the time it takes to complete the surveys is based on feedback from focus groups, anglers who called or emailed to ask questions, and the fact that many anglers are able to skip questions as not applicable if they are not on overnight trips, for example, or they don’t have expenditures in all categories asked about. Results from prior surveys indicate that any individual respondent has only a limited number of expenditures out of all that are asked about on the survey.

A total of 83,426 responses, annualized to 27,808, and 9,426 hours, annualized to 3,142, is anticipated across all parts of the survey.

An hourly rate of $22.77 is based on the average for all civilian workers from the January 2011 National Compensation Survey (http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/nctb1477.pdf). There are no other costs, resulting in a cost to respondents of approximately $71,546 for 3,142 hours.

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to the respondents or record-keepers resulting from the collection (excluding the value of the burden hours in Question 12 above).

There are no start-up, capital, or maintenance costs associated with this collection. No new or specialized equipment is needed to respond to this collection. The forms are provided with postage-paid envelopes.

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.

Based on the cost of conducting the 2011 and 2014 surveys, the estimated cost to the government is $350,000 annually for a contract for conducting angler intercept interviews, developing and cleaning the sample frame, printing and mailing, and entering the data from the survey. All analysis of the data and reporting, and any scientific publications will developed by the NMFS staff as part of their regular federal duties. One ZPIV staff member will work approximately 312 hours for a total annual cost of $20,820; one ZPIV staff member will work approximately 670 hours for a total cost of 42,280. Total staff time costs are $63,100.

Total contractor and staff costs are estimated to be $392,280 annually.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.

Program Changes:

The HMS component was dropped due to the fact that we do not anticipate surveying this population again in the next 3 years. Puerto Rico was dropped due to complications with staffing intercept interviews in the territory in the foreseeable future. The burden hours were reduced because the HMS angler permit frame was dropped (accounting for a decrease of 124 hours).

Adjustments:

Adjustments were made to the number of MRIP intercept interviews (including dropping Puerto Rico and moving LA and HI to a mail/internet based survey) were made based on more recent estimates of effort from 2015. LA and HI were switched to the mail frame with adjustments to those frames as well given updated sample size estimates from state license frames. All of these adjustments for Puerto Rico, LA, HI and the other trip expenditure related updates resulted in a net decrease of 406 hours. Adjustments to the durable good portion related to updated estimates of anglers per state resulted in further reduced burden hours for a decrease of 132 hours. The total reduction in burden hours was 538 hours.

The trip expenditure form for mail/web was shortened to two pages via minor modifications in question wording for clarification, by consolidating text and formats, and removing the front page of images. Question 9 (regarding the number of trips in the previous 2 months) and trips in non-US waters were dropped from the California version. Expenditure categories for CA were changed to just “bait” instead of live or non-live bait, and for all state versions, “Parking and site access fees” now reads “Parking, site access fees, and tolls”. For the durable expenditure survey form for CA, the question on what counties within the state the angler fished were dropped. We don’t expect that these minor changes will significantly affect the time to fill out the survey. A combined Hawaii form was added so that durables could be collected for Hawaii; in the original submission no durable good expenditures were collected for Hawaii.

16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and publication.

All results will be entered in a database using standard QA/QC procedures in survey research. Economists from NOAA Fisheries will analyze the data using standard software (e.g., SAS) and standard statistical procedures that are appropriate for survey data. Results from this collection may be used in scientific, management, technical or general informational publications, and would follow prescribed statistical tabulations and summary table formats.

Summary data will be developed and be included in various forms available on the Web page of the Office of Science and Technology, National Marine Fisheries Service. The Web site address is http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/economics/fisheries/recreational/index. Data from this survey may support research and analyses to be presented at appropriate professional meetings and may be submitted for publication in appropriate economic or fisheries peer-reviewed journals. Summary marine recreational fishing expenditure and economic impact statistics produced using data from this survey are included in the annual publication by NMFS, Fisheries Economics of the United States (e.g. FEUS 2014), available at

http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/economics/publications/ feus/fisheries_economics_2014/index.

Reports of previous survey results are available at

http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/economics/fisheries/recreational/angler-expenditures-economic-impacts/index.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons why display would be inappropriate.

Not Applicable.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.

Not Applicable.

1 Expenditures for states with multiple fisheries that can be delineated across geographic areas will be analyzed at a sub-state regional level, such as California and Florida

2 We divide by 3 because the survey will be conducted once every 3 years.

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