A team of scientists have been conducting a novel study to understand trends and patterns in commercial fishing business costs and harvester perceptions. They qualitatively analyzed survey comments from 2006 through 2022 and recently published their findings in Fisheries Management and Ecology. They found that harvesters were frustrated by perceived high operating costs and low profits.
The commercial fishing business cost survey is the only way NOAA Fisheries collects this kind of information in New England and Mid-Atlantic. This voluntary survey goes to active, federally permitted commercial fishing vessel owners from Maine to North Carolina.
“Our cost survey is the primary source of economic data collected from commercial fishing vessel owners in our region. These data are essential for assessing how fishing fleets are doing economically,” said Elizabeth Conley, lead author of the study. “It’s critical that we connect with industry so we can learn about their business practices and better understand the socioeconomic landscape of fisheries in our region.”
Although the Magnuson-Stevens Act mandates using socioeconomic data—along with environmental factors—they are often less available compared with biological data.
👉The Magnuson-Stevens Act celebrates its 50th anniversary: NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Eugenio Piñeiro Soler reflects on the legacy and the future impact.
Survey Says: High Costs, Low Profit
Survey comments showed that harvesters don’t feel like they’re making enough profit to sustain their livelihoods. That feeling was prominent throughout the history of the survey. Harvesters expressed that high operating costs and low quota and/or days-at-sea allocations contributed to lower than desired profits. Further analyses found that their perceptions of low profits were linked to growing feelings of dissatisfaction with NOAA, industry uncertainty, and perceived mismanagement of fisheries stocks. In many cases, perceptions of making little or no profit aligned with quantitative data from the survey showing decreased profitability.
👉Explore the team’s survey data using their Cost Data Visualization Tool. Users can visualize 4 years of quantitative survey results. Also, explore the team’s Vessel Profit Snapshots using 2022 data to better understand fleet profits.
Distrust in Fisheries Management
Over time, the feelings of dissatisfaction, industry uncertainty, and low profit have led to distrust in fisheries managers and management processes. That’s a problem when it comes to working together to meet fisheries management goals.
“Trust plays an essential role in fisheries management. The decision-making process involves a lot of uncertainty due to imperfect data and information, making it heavily dependent on trust that different stakeholders share similar goals,” explained Tarsila Seara, chief of our Social Sciences Branch. “Industry needs to trust that sharing information is useful and beneficial. Ultimately, managing a complex fishery system requires meaningful collaboration, which is only possible through mutual trust.”
Righting the Course of Distrust
Deeply rooted distrust benefits no one. Ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. That’s why our science center has been steadily working to build trust. This doesn’t happen overnight—it takes time, dedication, mutual respect, shared goals, and hard work. And while it’s not an easy process, building productive relationships with the fishing industry is critically important for the future of fisheries science and management.
Here are a few ways we are expanding opportunities for the fishing industry to participate and collaborate.
Cultivating Idea Factories
Idea factories are creative, collaborative environments designed to develop and nurture innovations, solutions, and creative ideas. Some of our recent science idea factories started as small informal gatherings that turned ideas into action—collaborative research addressing industry questions and concerns.
Squid Squad
The Squid Squad is a collaborative, interdisciplinary team of federal, state, and academic scientists, industry members, and managers. They meet regularly to discuss near real-time oceanographic observations and recent squid fishing. Together they have developed a series of collaborative research projects that could help fill knowledge gaps on what we know about shortfin and longfin squid. One of the projects the Squid Squad developed in response to the ideas of the fishing industry is a study to investigate the oceanic conditions and processes driving the movements and migration of shortfin squid.
Cooperative Research Summit
The Northeast Cooperative Research Summit is an annual event that focuses on building partnerships and trust between the fishing and science communities to address science and management needs. It prioritizes active participation of commercial and recreational fishing industry members and includes:
- Learning about ongoing cooperative research initiatives
- Small group activities to practice active collaboration
- Large group discussions of shared research priorities
The Summit highlights the value of the different expertise fishermen and scientists bring to the table. It also demonstrates how that expertise can be harnessed to develop solutions to the many challenges facing our region’s fisheries.
“Providing a venue for fishermen to share observations and ideas is an essential step in the process of building a shared understanding of fisheries resources. Partnership starts with conversation, and builds into high-impact science,” said Anna Mercer, chief of our Cooperative Research Branch.
Learning Together Through Collaborative Research
We work collaboratively with industry research projects ranging from fisheries and ocean ecosystem conditions to biological sampling and other data collection to help improve stock assessments.
Study Fleet
For 20 years, we have partnered with nearly 50 fishermen to collect high-resolution data through our Study Fleet Program to address science and management needs. This partnership demonstrates the usefulness of data that fishermen collect about their catch, fishing effort, and the environment. These data allow us to better understand trends in the abundance and distribution of resource species. We use them to map fishery footprints to understand where and how fishing occurs, and quantify the environmental conditions in and around fishing grounds. The scientific products produced through Study Fleet:
- Inform stock assessments
- Address modern challenges related to marine development
- Advance understanding of the ecosystem drivers
- Improve oceanographic models
Environmental Monitors on Lobster Traps and Large Trawlers
Last year, nearly 150 fishing vessels outfitted with oceanographic sensors participated in the Environmental Monitors on Lobster Traps and Large Trawlers Program. They collected bottom water temperature data across the Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf. This temperature data is used in regional ocean forecast models to improve their performance. This is similar to how the National Weather Service uses weather station data in their forecast models. “Ocean forecasts are valuable to fishermen who use them to tune their search windows for different species. Mariners also use them to plan vessel routes and the U.S. Coast Guard uses them to plan search and rescue operations," explained program coordinator George Maynard.
Creating Avenues for Fishermen to Share Their Insights
Industry Input Opportunities
We continue to seek input from industry members on efforts including stock assessments and our annual State of the Ecosystem reports. In March 2026, we held a stock assessment community input webinar, inviting industry members and external experts to:
- Provide on-the-water observations
- Identify new data sources
- Flag emerging issues important for informing the 2027 Management Track assessments
Starting in 2024, we asked a number of commercial fishing industry members if they observed any unusual fishing conditions during the 2024 fishing season. Their observations helped inform our annual, collaboratively produced State of the Ecosystem reports. These reports provide a synthesis of the current status of the Northeast Shelf marine ecosystems (Georges Bank, Gulf of Maine, and the Mid-Atlantic Bight). They’re presented to the New England Fishery Management Council and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council to inform them about ecological, oceanographic, and socioeconomic aspects of the ecosystem—from fishing engagement to climate conditions. The 2026 State of the Ecosystem reports covering the 2025 fishing season will again include a fishing observations section. Observations include:
- Cooler water temperatures
- Record levels of white marlin, and higher abundance of billfish, sandlance, shortfin squid and Atlantic mackerel compared to recent years
Some species like Atlantic mackerel, Atlantic striped bass, red drum, bluefish, and other gamefish showed shifting distributions and unpredictable timing
👉Have you seen anomalous or unusual fishing conditions? Report them to the State of the Ecosystem team.
We’re Here for It!
Working together with open minds, mutual respect, and shared common goals can open the doors to improved science that can be used to inform the management of our region’s fisheries.
“We’re continuing to emphasize partnerships,” said Jon Hare, director of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. “Our goal is to build our cooperative research and survey programs and engagements with the fishing industry to improve science and build trust."
