Research Document - 2002/103
Fishermen's Indicators: a Pilot Questionnaire Survey on Fishing Conditions in the Div. 4X Groundfish Fishery in 2001 and 2002
By R. G. Halliday, R. M. Branton, J. West,
P. A. Comeau and P. C. F. Hurley
Abstract
Greater utilization of fishermen's knowledge in fishery management is universally recognized as necessary but mechanisms for doing this need further development. A major obstacle to utilizing fishermen's information in scientific stock assessments has been the difficulty of incorporating it into the models used. However, the newly developed Traffic Light Method can easily incorporate indicators that reflect fishermen's experiences. A vehicle for systematic collection of fishermen's views on fishing conditions is required to provide such indicators. This document presents the results of a pilot interview survey to collect such information from groundfish fishermen fishing in Div. 4X in 2001 and 2002. It proved possible to interview only 40 fishermen over the two years, 33 from the mobile gear fleet and seven from the fixed gear fleet. The survey asked questions that allowed inferences to be made about stock abundance, recruitment prospects, fish condition and bycatches. Many of the fishermen interviewed viewed the survey positively and provided extensive guidance on how it could be improved. It is considered worthwhile to pursue this initiative further but new methods for administering the survey, and some financial support, are necessary.
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