NOAA’s Saltwater Recreational Fishing Attitudes and Preference Survey is a national survey focusing specifically on understanding saltwater anglers’ attitudes and preferences regarding the management of recreational (non-commercial) fishing opportunities.The Hawaii version of the survey was implemented between June and August 2015

This dataset includes qualitative interview data aggregated and entered into an excel csv file. We collected data by observing virtual Council-hosted meetings and conducting virtual unstructured interviews from September 2020 to July 2021. Interviewees were selected either for A) their participation in the 2015-16 Hawaiʻi bottomfish commercial fishery data workshops, or B) their knowledge of, contribution to, or direct participation in Guam’s bottomfish fisheries, fishery operations and data collection, stock assessment science, and subsequent management. Participants were identified through the 2015-16 workshop attendee list (Yau 2018) and the lead author’s points of contact within the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC), the Guam Division of Aquatics and Wildlife Resources (DAWR), and Guam and Hawaiʻi fishing communities. Additional participants were identified through participant referral. A total of 42 stakeholders were interviewed. Data from interviews and participant observations were coded to track themes that emerged from the data. Data were coded to capture and organize themes relevant to multi-stakeholder engagement processes and the relationship between bottomfish fisheries, science, and management.

To enable fisheries managers to comply with National Standard 8 (NS8), NMFS social scientists around the nation are preparing fishing community profiles that present the features and characteristics of such communities. PIFSC has published or is developing four such profiles: one each for Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.

The design of marine protected areas (MPAs) generates much discussion among marine scientists. Ecological studies have suggested that protecting 10 to 40% of regional ecosystems is needed to preserve diversity, while public preferences for MPA size have not been modeled. We conduct a choice experiment to estimate the existence value of protecting species and habitat diversity on the sea floor in areas that vary in size and allowable uses of the water column, and apply a latent class specification to accommodate taste parameter heterogeneity. Results identify three latent classes in the sample, and suggest that while protecting areas as ecological reserves is utility-increasing for most size/use combinations, smaller reserves with liberal use policies produce the largest increases. Our research suggests diminishing marginal utility for MPA sizes that are substantially smaller than ranges often cited, and the distinct latent classes underscore the need to question the assumption of homogeneous preferences when evaluating MPA policy.

Interview guides solicited fishers' experiences and perceptions of fishing practice, marine resource use, and marine ecosystems through time, as well as local resource management. Fishers across Saipan, Tinian, and Rota were selected based on their age and willingness to participate, with preferences for fishers over the age of 50, with at least 20 years of fishing experience in the Marianas, and who had sustained at least a weekly fishing practice at some point in their life. Between December 2009 and May 2010, 78 interviews were conducted in paired interviewer-notetaker teams consisting of DEQ, DCRM, and JIMAR staff. Discussions were conducted in English and Chamorro.

This research employs a stated preference choice experiment survey of households in California, Oregon, and Washington to quantify public preferences and simulate a suite of different marine protected areas (MPA) designs and their associated values. The research pertains specifically to MPAs in U.S. federal waters (waters 3 to 200 miles from shore) off the coasts of California, Washington, and Oregon West Coast, hereafter referred to as west coast federal waters.

This sub-project addresses the question what are the initial and longer term (2 years) economic and social values generated under the changed management arrangements associated with the demersal finfish fisheries of the West Coast Bioregion’, in relation to the charter boat industry of Western Australia. It assesses the development, size, and structure of the industry, and examines the socio-economic impact of recent changes to the management of recreational fishing in the West Coast Bioregion. The results of an operational and financial and socio-economic survey of active operators and an analysis of daily trip returns show that tour operators have adapted to the new management regime in five principal ways: (i) a decline of fishing effort; (ii) an increase in alternative (non-demersal) fishing activity; (iii) an increase in non-extractive activity; (iv) a transfer of some effort outside of the West Coast Bioregion; (v) and the exit of active operators and the retirement of inactive licenses.

This survey provides economic data related to marine recreational fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. The data collected include preference and opinion information necessary to accurately measure the economic effects of regulation changes on the recreational fishing community. The mail survey design was stratified to cover three sampling frames: 1) the MRIP saltwater angler registry for private boat anglers 2) the LA for-hire angler license frame for these anglers and 3) volunteers intercepted by MRIP for for-hire anglers outside of LA. A stated preference choice experiment allows for the calculation of willingness to pay related to four important species.

Changes in coastal conditions, including those associated with a shifting climate, can impact the spawning, growth, and ultimately, survival of commercially and recreationally important fisheries. To assess the impacts of climate on the sustainability of fish stocks and take appropriate action, management agencies need access to long-term datasets. Much of the needed data exists, but managers may lack access to it and scientists collecting the data may not know how to make it available to those who need it.

This survey assessed the potential price premiums that consumers are willing to pay for tuna that is harvested from stocks with known abundance, known by-catch rates, and the effect of tuna farming on preferences.