Not by fishing alone: Non-fishing employment and income for US West Coast fishers

Income diversification is an important aspect of financial security among individual fishers, who generally face high annual fluctuations in their income levels. While prior studies have analyzed the importance of diversifying within-fisheries income streams (e.g., across species groups, or region), the role of income from non-fishing occupations as an additional source of diversification has received little empirical attention. We link fisheries landing data to survey responses among 1,230 individual fishers living in the Continental US West Coast to analyze trends and correlates of individual fishers choosing to earn non-fishing income. We find that predictors capturing the opportunity cost of not fishing, pecuniary factors, and within-fishery diversity metrics significantly influence the probability that fishers earn non-fishing income. Our results indicate an overall tradeoff between within-fishery with non-fishery income diversification choices; but that this tradeoff may be weaker for particular non-fishing occupation types and at particular times of the year.

Automated summary

Income diversification is important for individual fishers to achieve financial security due to high income fluctuations. While previous studies have focused on diversifying income within fisheries, the role of non-fishing occupations as a source of diversification has been overlooked. By analyzing data from 1,230 individual fishers on the US West Coast, we find that factors such as opportunity cost, monetary considerations, and within-fishery diversity significantly influence the likelihood of fishers earning non-fishing income. There is a tradeoff between within-fishery and non-fishery income diversification, but this tradeoff may vary for different non-fishing occupation types and times of the year.