North Pacific Fishing Crew Demographics and Trends 1993-2003 Courtney Carothers University of Washington National Marine Fisheries Service Alaska Fisheries Science Center Jennifer Sepez National Marine Fisheries Service Alaska Fisheries Science Center Managing Fisheries, Empowering Communities Anchorage, Alaska April 2005
INTRODUCTION: Data Gaps and Social Impacts -- CREW Supplying Basic Information Review of Our Study & Results Limitations Future Data Needs
METHODS DATA Alaska Dept of Fish and Game (ADF&G) Commercial Crew Member License Database (N = 272,145 annual license holders; 1993 2003 ) ** All State Fisheries; Federal if Landings ** No Fishery Specific Information
METHODS ADF&G DEFINES CREW MEMBERS: 1. Person who fishes or handles gear 2. Vessel cook 3. Vessel engineer NOT crew: Processing workers Vessel guests Gear Operator Permit Holders
METHODS DEMOGRAPHIC FIELDS Total Population License Longevity Age Gender Citizenship & Country Alaska Residency Geographic Distribution State and Community
RESULTS: TOTAL POPULATION North Pacific Commercial Fishing Crew 35000 Licenses Issued 30000 25000 20000 15000 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Year The population of crew members has shrunk by ~ 50% in the last decade.
License Longevity North Pacific Crew Member License Longevity Percent 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 License Longevity (Number of Years) Average crew member holds license for 1.8 years (only 30% of sample gave unique identifiers; this could be skewed) 20% hold license for 3+ years; Only 7% for 5 or more years
AGE Crew Member License Holder Age Distribution 1993-2003 Percent 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 0-4 10-14 20-24 30-34 40-44 50-54 60-64 70-74 80+ Age Group Mean Age is 30.2 years (N = 264,685; s.d. = 12.7 years) Min(1993) = 29.8 years Max (2003) = 30.7 years Significant difference at p<0.001
GENDER & AGE Age Distribution 18 16 14 12 Percent 10 8 6 4 Overall Distribution Male Female 2 0 0-4 10-14 20-24 30-34 40-44 50-54 60-64 70-74 80+ Age Group Mean Age Women = 31.3 years (N = 35,915; s.d.=14.6 yrs) Mean Age Men = 30.0 years (N = 226,606; s.d.=12.4 yrs) Significant at p < 0.001
RESIDENCY & AGE Age Distribution 20.000 18.000 16.000 14.000 Percent 12.000 10.000 8.000 Overall Distribution Residents Non-residents 6.000 4.000 2.000 0.000 0-4 10-14 20-24 30-34 40-44 50-54 60-64 70-74 80+ Age Group Mean Age Ak Residents = 29.5 years Mean Age Non-residents = 31.2 years (N = 150,015; s.d. 13.3 yrs) (N = 113,917; s.d. = 11.7 yrs) Significant at p < 0.001
GENDER Gender of Crew Member License Holders 1993-2003 Percent 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Year % male % female ~ 9 male crew members to 1 female crew member ~ 1.4% increase in percent of female crew members over study period
GENDER & LICENSE TYPE Gender Distribution of Types of Crew Member Licenses 1993-2003 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Resident Non-Resident Type of License Child Child (Resident) Child (Non-Res) % Female % Male More young crew members are female (30%) The lowest proportion of female crew members are non-residents (7.9%)
Geographic Distribution: STATE Distribution of Crew Licenses 1993-2003 5% 1% 8% 5% (59%) WA (22%) CA (4.7%) 22% 59% OR (4.6%) ID (1.0%) All others (8.1%)
2,454 407 CORDOVA 41 10 2,466 433 DILLINGHAM 35 9 30,711 447 JUNEAU 163 8 7,922 472 KETCHIKAN 109 7 3,224 537 PETERSBURG 40 6 8,835 684 SITKA 99 5 3,946 768 HOMER 29 4 563,374 987 WA SEATTLE 238 3 6,334 1,228 KODI 30 2 260,283 1,473 ANCHORAGE 203 1 Population Average # Licenses/Year State City/Village Per Capita Rank Overall Rank Geographic Distribution: PLACE Kodiak,
Geographic Distribution: PLACE Larsen Bay, Per Capita Rank Overall Rank City/Village State Average # Licenses/Year Population 1 175 POINT BER 21 35 2 192 ELFIN COVE 19 32 3 94 CHIGNIK 46 79 4 77 ILIAMNA 54 102 5 81 CHIGNIK LAGOON 52 103 6 76 SELDOVIA 56 144 7 99 EGEGIK 44 116 8 143 PORT ALEXANDER 28 81 9 111 LARSEN BAY 38 115 10 160 CLARK S POINT 25 75
PLACE: Change Over Time City/Village State Mean Annual Change Mean % of Total Licenses TOGI + 0.046 0.49 PETERSBURG + 0.035 2.2 CORDOVA + 0.030 1.7 SHORELINE WA + 0.030 0.18 MARSHALL + 0.028 0.19 JUNEAU - 0.051 1.8 KODI - 0.052 5.0 ANCHORAGE - 0.053 5.1 BETHEL - 0.11 1.1 SEATTLE WA - 0.16 3.9
How good are crew license data at representing working crew?? US Coast Guard Search and Rescue Incidents (180 crew members from 56 vessels: 1988 2004) Validity test of ADF&G data No significant differences found: Age Gender Three primary cities: Anchorage, Kodiak, Seattle Methodology test for export to other regions
Closing Thoughts Documenting Crew Participation Regulatory Analysis, Decision-Making, Impact Assessment DATA NEEDS: Fishery-specific information Participation Accurate residency information More detailed social scientific research with captains and crew to better understand trends
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Susan George, ADF&G Michael Burwell, Mineral Management Service Susan Jorgensen, US Coast Guard Terry Hiatt, NOAA Fisheries Dan Lew, NOAA Fisheries Laura Joralemon, Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission Merrick Burden, NOAA Fisheries Profiling Team at AFSC: Christina Package, Heather Lazrus, Kevin Grant, Nicole Milne, Megan Styles, John Primo, Robin Petersen, Karma Norman, and Suzanne Russell Susan Abott Jamieson, NOAA Fisheries Ben Muse, NOAA Fisheries Deep Sea Fishermen s Union, David Soma, Executive Director, and Sara Chapman, Operations Manager