Commercial fishers’ perceptions of jellyfish interference in the Northern California Current

Jellyfish disruption of fisheries has been described in some coastal systems, but few thorough investigations have been conducted. To ascertain the economic impact and trend of jellyfish blooms in the Northern California Current (NCC), we mailed surveys to resident commercial shrimpers, salmon trollers, rockfish (blue, black), and groundfish fishers (n 1⁄4 872). We asked fishers to estimate the damages caused by jellyfish—including costs of relocating to avoid blooms, lost fishing time, time lost to bycatch sorting, fish depreciation, and gear damage. Of the total respondents (n 1⁄4 111), 67% reported that jellyfish reduce their seasonal revenue, but the degree of impact ranged considerably by fishery and location. Highest jellyfish nuisance corresponded to regions with the most salmon trolling effort. Using the mean revenue losses provided by respondents, we estimate that the combined economic impact of jellyfish onOregon’s salmon and pink shrimp fishers was over $650 000 in peak jellyfish season (June–September) in 2012. Fishers reported that jellyfish biomass varies annually, butmost respondents (51%) reported observing no appreciable change in jellyfish populations in the last 5 years. Since economic impact analyses have been conducted primarily in areas with anomalous, highdensity blooms, data from the NCC, which is not known to be experiencing increases in jellyfish abundance, provides baseline information on the socio-economic impact of jellyfish blooms in this region. In addition, the finding that jellyfish impact hook and line fisheries—not solely net fisheries—has implications for many other regions where fishers employ this gear type.