National Marine Fisheries Service Launches Cooperative Research Survey of For-Hire Fishing Vessels in New England and the Mid-Atlantic

The National Marine Fisheries service (NMFS) will gather economic performance data from the for-hire fleet in New England and the Mid Atlantic including all coastal states from Virginia north to Maine. Approximately 1,600 licensed charter boat and head boat owners will be invited to participate in the Recreational For-Hire Economic Survey (RFHES), which began in January 2011 and is funded by NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center. The data will be used to show the overall economic importance of the head boat and charter fishing industry, and to gauge how Government policies impact its economic health. Vessels will be randomly selected and owners will be invited to participate in this in-person survey.  QuanTech will send introductory packages by mail, will call each selected captain to confirm eligibility and schedule time to complete the in-person survey. Most interviews should take less than 30 minutes to complete. All responses will be kept anonymous and confidential. Information collected from the project will be used to construct a baseline assessment of the financial health and economic impact of the for-hire recreational industry in the Northeast U.S. Future researchers and policy-makers will have access to this data to assess the economic effects of changes in the business landscape, such as economic downturns, fuel price changes, policy changes and natural disasters.