2026 Commercial Fishing Crew Survey
Our crew survey helps us assess the social and economic well-being of commercial fishing vessel crews in our region. Crew members are an important part of the fishing industry and we need to know how management and environmental change affect them.
Project Overview
In 2012, we started a voluntary and anonymous survey to collect information that will help us examine trends in:
- Commercial fishing vessel crew demographics
- Participation and practices
- Views on fishery management
- Job satisfaction
- Well-being over time
This will be our fourth time conducting this survey. The information we collect helps inform decision makers about potential social and economic impacts of management decisions.
This is an intercept-style survey. Our social scientists visit ports in the Greater Atlantic region to interview commercial fishing vessel crews, including hired captains. Participation in our commercial fishing crew survey is voluntary and takes about 10 minutes, responses are anonymous.
There is little basic demographic information about our region’s commercial fishing crew. Currently, this survey is the only way NOAA Fisheries collects this kind of information. Without it, we can’t understand and predict how fisheries management decisions affect the lives, success, and well-being of commercial fishing crews in our region.
Who Can Participate
Any commercial fishing vessel crew member, including hired captains, can participate.
How to Take the Survey
Crew members have several ways to take our survey:
- In-person: interview at ports
- Online
- Phone: (508) 495-4731
- Mail: Northeast Fisheries Science Center c/o Matt Cutler; 166 Water Street; Woods Hole, MA 02543
Survey Timeline and Ports
This survey began in April and will continue through the fall. To ensure that we connect with as many crew as possible from ports across our region, we may extend our timeline and will be adding more ports to our list. We’ll update this web page to reflect any changes. The current port visit timeline is:
- May: Rhode Island
- June: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia
- July: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey
- August: Virginia, North Carolina
Information We Will Collect
Examples of specific information we’ll be collecting include:
- Basic demographics
- Job activities and opportunities
- Satisfaction with various aspects of the job
- Wage systems and expenses
- Attitudes about fisheries management
How We Will Use Survey Data
Survey results will help fisheries scientists and managers better understand what is going on in crew members’ lives and how management decisions may impact commercial fish crews. The data collected in this survey can be used in a variety of ways, including:
- Informing the fisheries management process
- Documenting trends in commercial crew employment
- Identifying social and economic issues affecting vulnerable populations within our fishing and coastal communities
Responses Are Anonymous and Confidential
Both participation and individual responses to this survey are anonymous and confidential. We will not collect any personally identifiable information. All data appearing on our data visualization tool and in reports will be presented in a manner that protects confidentiality. Individual data can only be accessed by our staff and affiliates who have signed non-disclosure agreements.
How This Survey Benefits Industry
By participating in this survey, crew members and hired captains can help shape their future, and the future of fisheries management and regulation. We need to better understand what kinds of challenges and threats our region's commercial fishing industry faces. The data this survey collects help us do that, so we can better predict how fisheries management decisions may change the lives, success, and well-being of commercial fishing crew in our region.
Project Team
- Matt Cutler, social scientist
- Kiera Morrill, fisheries social scientist
- Dana Grieco, fisheries social scientist
Survey History, Results, and Data Summaries
We conducted this survey in 2012, 2018, and 2023. We published the findings from our 2012 and 2018 surveys, detailing the background, methods, and overall results from the first two surveys. We’ve also published a peer-reviewed paper about notable shifts in demographics and well-being over time.
What We’ve Learned During our Previous Surveys:
Few young people (18 to 24 years old) are entering the commercial fishing industry as crew members or hired captains:
- 18 percent in 2012
- 11 percent in 2018
- 14 percent in 2023
There are few new entrants to the industry. In 2023, we found:
- 13 percent of crew had less than 5 years experience fishing
- Nearly 54 percent had more than 15 years in the industry
- Nearly 25 percent had more than 30 years experience
The majority of crew have family in the industry:
- 54 percent in 2012
- 60 percent in 2018
- 70 percent in 2023
The majority of crew are second generation or more commercial fishermen:
- 54 percent in 2012
- 59 percent in 2018
- 64 percent in 2023
The majority of crew disagree or strongly disagree that fishing is “just a job” to them:
- 78 percent in 2012
- 68 percent in 2018
- 79 percent in 2023
Almost half have considered leaving the industry:
- 49 percent in 2012
- 44 percent in 2018
- 43 percent in 2023
Most have never participated in fisheries management activities:
- 68 percent in 2012
- 60 percent in 2018
- 65 percent in 2023
Most agree or strongly agree that commercial fishing rules change too quickly:
- 65 percent in 2012
- 62 percent in 2018
- 78 percent in 2023
Most think commercial fishing rules are too restrictive:
- 65 percent in 2012
- 52 percent in 2018
- 70 percent in 2023