Thalassorama A System for Classifying Small Boat Fishermen in Hawaii

A statewide economic survey of Hawaii’s fishing vessel operators was conducted in 1995–96. Survey topics fell into five groups: vessel characteristics, owners’ motivations, fishing operations, cost and revenue information, and operator demographics. Although this project was designed for and emphasizes the costs and earnings of commercial pelagic fishermen, information was also collected from recreational and nonpelagic fishermen due to the difficulty of eliminating this category prior to the administration of the survey. Considerable confusion exists as to the definition of the term “commercial fisherman” in Hawaii. According to Hawaii state law, any fisherman who sells at least one fish in a year is considered a commercial fisherman and must obtain a commercial marine license for that year. However, fishermen and other industry members generally consider a commercial fisherman to be one who depends on profits derived from fishing for at least a portion of his income. This definition would exclude a large number of Hawaii’s fishermen who sell fish in an attempt to cover their fishing costs but never realize, or expect to realize, an economic profit from their operations. This group exists due to a mix of easy access to markets and the lack of bag limits for most species. This combination also means that many otherwise “recreational” fishermen who find a good fishing spot will continue fishing past the point of supplying enough fish to meet their family’s needs. They know that they can easily sell any excess. Again, Hawaii state law considers this group to be commercial fishermen. However, most industry members recognize the difference between a fisherman who sells his catch to make a living and one who sells to cover a portion of his expenses. Thus, vessels covered in this survey were screened and classified into three types of operations based on operator responses to the following questions: