An Appraisal of the Social and Cultural Aspects of the Multispecies Groundfish Fishery in the New England and the Mid-Atlantic Regions is a study conducted by Aguirre International under contract for NOAA/NMFS. This 1996 report concludes Phase I of a study whose goals were: (a) to identify fishery-dependent communities throughout the Northeast Region, (b) to provide information on the demographics and numbers of fishermen, fishing craft, and persons involved in fishery-related industries by community, county, and state, (c) to identify existing social science data bases and describe social issues which should be considered in Phase II, and (d) to develop a classification system that would aid in predicting the social impacts of changing fishery regulations on fishery-dependent communities. Phase II of the study begins in the summer of 1997 and is an evaluation of the impacts of management actions, including in-depth studies of areas of particular concern identified in the Phase 1 report.
This report is also available as a PDF
For other information on social, cultural, economic, and biological aspects of the Northeast groundfish fishery at the time of this report, see the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statements for Amendments 5 and 7 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, available from the New England Fishery Management Council: http://www.nefmc.org , joleary@nefmc.org or (978) 465-0492.
Also see a Brief History of Groundfishing in New England and The Sociocultural and Economic Survey Initiative. Finally, see reports and information on other sociocultural and economic work by the NEFSC Social Sciences Branch and other NMFS regions and Headquarters offices.
Please contact Trish Clay (pclay@whsun1.wh.whoi.edu), Anthropologist, Social Sciences Branch,Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service if you notice any typographical or other errors in the text or have trouble accessing any portion of this document.