Greater Atlantic Region Commercial Fishing Cost Survey—

National Marine
Fisheries Service

Northeast Fisheries
Science Center

GREATER ATLANTIC REGION
COMMERCIAL FISHING
BUSINESS COST SURVEY FOR 2022
Multiple Gears




















Photo credit: Shutterstock©

Individual participation and responses will be kept confidential.
Throughout the survey we will refer to a “selected vessel”, that you own.
Please respond to these questions thinking only about this vessel:
[ Vessel Name ]
Coast Guard Documentation or State Registration Number [12345678]

General Information
1. In what year did you become the owner of the selected vessel? Please see the top of this page for the name of
the “selected vessel”.

YYYY
2. How many commercial fishing/shellfishing trips did the selected vessel take in 2022? Please write the number
of trips in the box below.
Commercial trips
This vessel was inactive for all of 2022
This vessel did not take any commercial fishing/shellfishing trips in 2022, but did take recreational or
other types of trips

New/Replacement, Repair/Maintenance, Upgrade and Other Costs for the Selected Vessel
3. Record your total new/replacement, repair/maintenance, and upgrade costs incurred in 2022 for the selected
vessel. In this section, please do include the associated labor costs (paid out to vendors).
Total 2022 Cost
for the Selected
Vessel

New, Repair, Maintenance, & Upgrade Cost Category
Propulsion Engine such as engine, drive train, exhaust/
cooling systems and cost of oil/oil changes
Deck Equipment / Other Machinery such as winches, haulers,
generators, hydraulics, compressors, reels, pumps
Haul-out Costs such as haul-out costs for regular repair and
maintenance, emergency haul-out, long term storage, zincs,
bottom paint, acid wash and gel coating
Hull such as frame, deck, wheelhouse, keel, steering,
rigging, fish holds, fuel tanks
Fishing Gear such as codends, nets/panels, dredges, buoys,
highfliers, doors, pots/traps, cables, tackle
Wheelhouse Electronics such as radar, GPS, new/updated
VMS system (not VMS fees), sounder, radio, depth/temp/net
sensors, monitors (Do not include electronic monitoring [EM]
costs in this section)
Processing / Refrigeration such as refrigerated seawater
systems, packaging equipment, ice maker (Do not include the
cost of ice itself, shore-side freezer rental, or ANY costs captured in
docking fees (Question 4))
Safety Equipment such as EPIRB, raft repacking, fire extinguisher
maintenance, flares, survival suits

1

Check Box
if NO Cost
in 2022
No Cost

$

.00

$

.00

$

.00

No Cost

$

.00

No Cost

$

.00

No Cost

$

.00

No Cost

$

.00

No Cost

$

.00

No Cost

No Cost

4. Record the amount spent in 2022 for the selected vessel for each of the categories below.
Total 2022 Cost
for the Selected
Vessel

Category

Mooring/Docking Fees including upkeep expenses you paid
in 2022

$

.00

State and Federal Permits and/or License Renewal Fees
not including costs pertaining to purchasing permits or licenses

$

.00

$

.00

$

.00

Vessel or Permit Payments/Financing including the amount
you paid on down payments or loans on vessel/permit
purchases, made in 2022, including tax

Annual Vessel Insurance Premium for 2022 annual premium
paid for hull and Protection & Indemnity (P & I) insurance in 2022

Check Box
if NO Cost
in 2022
No Cost
No Cost
No Cost

Number of
months insured:

No Cost

Number of months vessel
was laid–up/out
of water in 2022:

Trip Expenses for the Selected Vessel
Note: If this vessel did not take any commercial trips in 2022, check here

and SKIP to Question 12.

5. Please provide your total trip costs by category OR the average cost per trip (best estimate) if that amount is
easier to provide, for the selected vessel incurred in 2022.
Do not include costs if they were captured in mooring/docking fees (Question 4).
Total 2022 Cost
for the Selected
Vessel

Trip Cost Category

2022 Avg. Cost
per Trip

Check Box
if NO Cost
in 2022

Fuel

$

.00

$

.00

No Cost

Bait including shore-side baiting labor costs
if applicable

$

.00

$

.00

No Cost

Food for captain and crew

$

.00

$

.00

No Cost

Ice including purchases or cost of making ice

$

.00

$

.00

No Cost

Catch Handling costs for auction, lumping,
grading, shipping/trucking, and unloading.
Please only include costs directly incurred by
the vessel. Do not include costs that were
captured in ex-vessel prices.

$

.00

$

.00

At-sea Processing, At-sea Boxing/Packaging $

.00

$

.00

2

No Cost

No Cost

6. Please choose the option that best describes how trip expenses were paid for on most commercial trips
in 2022:
Please do not include the cost of leasing in/buying quota or Days at Sea (DAS). A full list of trip expenses to consider
can be found on the survey instruction sheet.
100% of trip expenses were paid by the boat/owner (including cases of no crew or hired captain in 2022)
100% of trip expenses were paid by crew
Trip expenses were shared: Boat/owner paid
Other (please describe):

% of trip expenses

7. Trip expenses in 2022 were paid...

Off the top (including cases of no crew or hired captain in 2022)
After shares were split
Other (please describe):

Crew Payment System for the Selected Vessel
Note: if this vessel did not have crew AND did not have a hired captain onboard for any commercial trips in
2022 please check here
and SKIP to Question 12.
8. Who was the captain of this vessel for the majority of commercial trips taken in 2022?

Majority hired captain
Majority owner-operated
Commercial trips were evenly split between hired captain and owner-operated
The selected vessel did not take any commercial trips in 2022 (SKIP to Question 12)
9. Which crew payment method was used on the majority of commercial trips on the selected vessel in 2022?

A flat rate system ($/hour, $/day, $/week, etc.)
A share system
A combination of a flat rate system AND a share system
Other (please describe):

3

10. What were the total payments (excluding bonuses) made to crew and hired captains in 2022?
Please check No Cost where applicable.

$

.00

OR

No Cost

b. Hired Captain: $

.00

OR

No Cost

a. Crew:

11. If you (the vessel owner) provided any benefits to the crew and/or hired captains that worked on the
selected vessel in 2022, what was the total cost for these benefits in 2022? Please include holiday
bonuses and profit sharing (see the instruction sheet for a full list of benefits).
$

.00

I did not provide benefits to crew or a hired captain
in 2022.

OR

Overhead Costs
12. Please record all overhead costs associated with this vessel only that were incurred in 2022.
If you own multiple vessels and you are not able to provide overhead costs associated with the selected vessel,
please report the total overhead costs for your fishing business in the “Total Cost for All OWNED Vessels” column.

Category and Examples
Business Vehicle Costs including mileage/fuel,
insurance, maintenance and financing
apportioned to fishing business-related
purposes only
Business Travel Costs including lodging and
travel expenses for business-related activities,
excluding business vehicle costs and trucking/
shipping costs

Total 2022 Cost for
the Selected Vessel

Total Cost for All
OWNED Vessels

Check Box if
 NO Cost in
2022

No Cost

$

.00

$

.00

$

.00

$

.00

No Cost

Association Fees Paid including co-operative,
fishing organization, sector fees, and union dues $

.00

$

.00

No Cost

Legal Expenses Paid including settlement and
legal fees

$

.00

$

.00

No Cost

Additional Labor Payments including
payments to accountants, office administrative
assistants, bookkeepers, and night watchmen

$

.00

$

.00

No Cost

Advertising Costs

$

.00

$

.00

No Cost

Communications Costs including cell/landline
phones, office radio, VMS operational fees (not
including the cost of new/upgraded VMS systems)
etc.

$

.00

$

.00

No Cost

Office/Workshop/Storage Expenses including
office/workshop supplies, office utilities
(electric, heat, internet, etc.), rental of office/
shed/freezer space, excluding communication
costs

$

.00

$

.00

No Cost

4

13. For how many permitted vessels were you listed as an owner of in 2022 (not including skiffs)?
vessels

Owner of

14. How many of the vessels in Question 13 took at least one commercial fishing/shellfishing trip in 2022?
vessels

The Value of the Selected Vessel
15. As of December 31, 2022 what was the estimated market value of this vessel? Please include all equipment
and fishing gear. Please do not include fishing permits or fishing history in this value.
$

.00

I don’t know
I prefer not to answer

16. As of December 31, 2022 what was the estimated market value of the fishing permits and fishing history
associated with the selected vessel?
$

.00

I don’t know
I prefer not to answer

Quota Costs and Revenues for the Selected Vessel
NOTE: If you DID NOT lease IN or lease OUT quota and had no Research Set-Aside (RSA) costs in 2022 please check
here
and SKIP to Question 20. Please do not include permanent quota transfers in this section.
17. Record the total cost from leasing IN quota or DAS in 2022 from permits associated with the selected vessel.
If non-monetary payments were used to obtain quota or DAS, please estimate the value of those non-monetary
payments. Include the cost of purchasing Research Set-Aside quota or DAS.

$

.00

No cost in 2022 from leasing IN quota or DAS from permits associated with the selected vessel (If no costs,
please SKIP to Question 19).

If quota leasing costs cannot be attributed solely to the selected vessel, because costs were associated with
multiple vessels, list the total quota cost below and the number of vessels the cost pertained to:

$

.00 total quota costs across

number of vessels.

t

5

18. If you incurred a cost in Question 17, how were these costs paid in 2022?
100% of quota leasing costs were paid by the boat/owner (including cases of no crew or hired captain in 2022)
100% of quota leasing costs were paid by crew
Quota leasing costs were shared: Boat/owner paid

% of quota leasing costs

Other (please describe):

19. Record your gross revenues earned from leasing OUT quota or DAS in 2022 from permits associated with
the selected vessel.
$

.00

No revenue received in 2022 from leasing OUT quota or DAS from permits associated with the selected
vessel.

20. Record total quota monitoring costs (for example, costs from observer or dockside monitoring/electronic
monitoring equipment/servicing/video review) incurred in 2022 for the selected vessel. Please only include
costs that you were not directly compensated or reimbursed for.
$

.00

No quota monitoring costs incurred by the selected vessel in 2022 (including if all quota monitoring
costs were reimbursed).

Completeness of Cost Information
21. Did you have any other costs in 2022 for the selected vessel that we have not asked about in this
survey? If so, list them below. Please do not report your personal costs (see instruction sheet for examples of
personal costs).
Additional Cost
in 2022

Description of Other Costs Incurred in 2022 for the Selected Vessel

$

.00

$

.00

22. Please indicate if the costs provided in this survey were directly from your records or from your best estimates.
Cost information provided is from my records.
Cost information provided reflects my best estimates.
Cost information provided reflects both information from my records and some best estimates.

6

)

Survey Follow-up Questions
23. May we contact you if we have follow-up questions to clarify the information you have provided us within
this survey?
Yes
No

24. If you responded “YES” to Question 23, please provide your contact information and preferred method for
contacting you:
Name
Telephone
Email
Preferred method
of contact

Telephone
Email

d

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!

Please use the space below to write comments or suggestions.

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