Commercial Fisheries

Our commercial fisheries research can be broken down into the following sub-themes: 

Markets, trade, and ex-vessel price forecasts: 

• This theme covers a broad range of topics and methods that includes empirical analyses of U.S. trade statistics for Alaska’s seafood commodities,analyses of U.S. trade statistics for imports (e.g., farmed Atlantic salmon) that compete with Alaska seafood products, econometric models of global market demand for Alaska crab and groundfish, and energy input-output models for commercial fisheries based on U.S. energy statistics. Price forecasts are used in the Groundfish Economic SAFE to nowcast current year revenues. 
• Wholesale Market Profiles for Alaska Groundfish and Crab Fisheries
• Contact: michael.dalton@noaa.gov 

Regional Economic Impact Modeling

• We conduct studies that examine the economic impacts on fishery-dependent regions or communities of fishery management actions and environmental shocks such as climate changes. 
• Contact: chang.seung@noaa.gov 

Economic Data Collection and Synthesis

• The purpose of economic data collections is to aid the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service in assessing the success of these programs and to develop program changes as needed.  The Economic Data Reports (EDRs), collected annually from the harvesting and processing sectors, contain cost, revenue, ownership and employment data. The data is used to study the economic impacts of the programs on harvesters, processors, and communities.
  • Contact: brian.garber-yonts@noaa.gov  

Economic Performance and Risk Analysis

• We develop tools and analyses to evaluate the economic performance of fisheries, fleets, shorebased processing and support operations, and communities to assess the economic status and risks to various components of our NMFS trust resources from both local (North Pacific) and global (climate change, global economy) forces. Some examples include decomposing productivity changes (Fissel et al. 2015), evaluating diversification and risk among fishing vessels (Kasperski and Holland 2013), capacity utilization (Felthoven 2002), identifying social-ecological thresholds (Perng et al. 2022), an ecosystem-based approach to marine risk assessment (Holsman et al. 2017) and an integrated risk assessment for the blue economy (Hodgson et al. 2019).
• Contact: stephen.kasperski@noaa.gov 

Catch Share Programs and Quota Markets

• ESSRP annually updates performance indicators for North Pacific Catch Share and non-Catch Share Programs to help fishery managers track catch share program performance and gauge whether a program is meeting its goals and objectives. The first national report on the Economic Performance of Catch Share programs can be found here (Brinson and Thunberg, 2013). Additional studies on productivity change in US Catch Share Programs can be found here (Walden et al. 2015), a study on US Quota Share markets can be found here (Holland et al. 2016), a summary of the 20-year review of the Halibut and Sablefish Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program can be found here (Szymkowiak, et al. 2019), a study of the economic efficiency costs of tradable permit programs can be found here, a study Identifying Community Risk Factors for Quota Share Loss can be found here (Szymkowiak et al. 2019), and the Impact of catch shares on diversification of fishers’ income and risk can be found here (Holland et al. 2017).   
• Contact: stephen.kasperski@noaa.gov or marysia.szymkowiak@noaa.gov 

Bioeconomics and Fleet Modeling of Commercial Fisheries

• Bioeconomic models based on the EDRs that apply to specific crab and groundfish fisheries:
  • BSAI Pacific Cod, GOA Pacific Cod, BSAI Northern Rock Sole
  • Bristol Bay Red King Crab, EBS Snow Crab, EBS Tanner Crab
• Effects of climate change and ocean acidification on maximum economic yield (MEY) supports elements of NOAA’s Next Generation Stock Assessment Modeling Improvement plan through the application of environmental covariates
• Comparing the roles of Pacific halibut and arrowtooth flounder within the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem and fishing economy (Ruzicka et al. 2019)
• Contact: michael.dalton@noaa.gov or stephen.kasperski@noaa.gov 

Economic Information for Annual TAC Determination: Groundfish and Crab Economic SAFEs

• The Groundfish Groundfish Economic Status Report (Econ SAFE or Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report) presents summary statistics on catch, value, participation, and effort in the groundfish fisheries, as well as analysis of community engagement in Alaska fisheries, the performance of groundfish catch share programs, and other indicators.  Contact:  TBA.
• The BSAI Crab Economic Status Report (BSAI Crab Economic Status Report) summarizes available economic information about the commercial crab fisheries managed under the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crab. It pays particular attention to the subset of fisheries included in the Crab Rationalization program. It includes statistics on catch, value, participation in the BSAI crab fisheries. The report also provides information on employment, income, costs, and quota movement in these fisheries. The groundfish and crab reports are also the primary channel for reporting data collected through the mandatory Economic Data Reporting programs for BSAI Crab, Amendment 91/AFA Pollock, Gulf of Alaska Trawl Groundfish, and Amendment 80.  Contact:  Brian.Garber-Yonts@noaa.gov. 
• Community Commercial Fishing Engagement Indices 
  • Originally developed in Colburn and Jepson (2012) and Jepson and Colburn (2013), we have applied these methods to a number of different Alaska commercial fisheries that have been utilized in several NPFMC Social Impact Assessments (SIAs), Environmental Impact Statements (EISs), Environmental Assessments/Regulatory Impact Reviews/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analyses, and Catch Share Program Reviews. Contact: stephen.kasperski@noaa.gov.
    • Appendix: Community Fisheries Engagement Indices of the Commercial Cook Inlet Salmon Drift Gillnet Fishery 1991-2021 (NPFMC 2023, p. 473). 
    • “10.1 Attachment A: Fisheries Engagement Indices for BSAI/Area 4 Halibut Communities” in Social Impact Assessment: Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Halibut Abundance-Based Management of Prohibited Species Catch Limits (NPFMC, October 2019, p. 159).
    • “Appendix 2.7A: AFSC Community Indices” in the Twenty-Year Review of the Pacific Halibut and Sablefish Individual Fishing Quota Management Program. North Pacific Fishery Management Council, December  2016, p.419.
    • “Appendix B: Community Fisheries Engagement Indices throughout the BSAI Crab Rationalization Program” in the Ten-Year Program Review for the Crab Rationalization Management Program in the Bering Sea/ Aleutian Islands. North Pacific Fishery Management Council, June, 2016. 
    • Kasperski, S. 2015. “A Methodology to Determine BSAI Halibut Dependent Communities” in Downs, M. and Weidlich, S. (Eds) Appendix C. Proposed Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Halibut Prohibited Species Catch Limit Revisions: Community Analysis. Prepared for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
    • “Appendix 4. Maps and Additional Methodology for Community Engagement and Reliance Indices” in the Initial Review Draft Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for a proposed amendment to the Gulf of Alaska Fishery Management Plan to Allow the Use of Pot Longline Gear in the Gulf of Alaska Sablefish Individual Fishing Quota Fishery. North Pacific Fishery Management Council. December, 2014, p. 156.
    • “Chapter 10: Community Impact” in the Final Environmental Impact Statement Steller Sea Lion Protection Measures for Groundfish Fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. May, 2014.