To better understand the lives of commercial fishermen and better shape the policies and projects that affect them.
Why are we doing it?
Unlike other, more number-based surveys already in existence, the objective of this survey was always to make sure that fishing communities have a real and human voice when it comes to the shaping of policies and projects affecting their world. We wanted to collect data that did more than report fishing information, but rather gave us a deeper and broader understanding of life in these communities. That’s why, over recent years, we have brought together a group of working fishermen to help us draw up questions alongside fishery representatives and policy-makers. This way, fishermen can take ownership not only of what information is collected, but also of the future direction of everyday life in fishing communities.
What does it involve?
The Fishing Industry Social Survey is designed to be an annual national survey that gathers living data about fishermen’s everyday lives: livelihoods, wellbeing and health, job satisfaction, views on fisheries management and Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs), and demographics, as well as fishing activity, to help provide context to the responses.
Thanks to this information, we’ll be able not only to provide an accurate evidence base on fishing community lives, but also to show how the data changes over time and in response to new policy and management measures. This, in turn, will help to influence and shape future policy decisions – meaning that fishermen can have a crucial voice in improving the quality of life within their own fishing communities.
How does the survey work?
The survey is invitation only – we will invite people via a random sample taken from the MMO fleet register. And this random sample will change every year, so that those who haven’t been invited this time will likely be invited in following years. This is to ensure a statistically representative sample across the fleet.
Based primarily online, the survey should take around 20 minutes to complete and will include both multiple choice questions and some short written answers. There will be a core set of questions repeated every year, but in the future we’ll add new questions to reflect changing circumstances within the sector, as well as monitoring a broad range of issues over time. All data collected will be anonymous and answers will never be linked to individuals.
We will also have a trusted and knowledgeable team of industry representatives available to help with completion either in person or over the phone. Those who do complete it will be able to enter a prize draw to be in with a chance of winning one of 20 £100 shopping vouchers.
In short, we want to make this survey both simple to complete and secure, so that as many fishermen as possible take their opportunity to shape the future of the industry every year – and to be able to track how things change over time too.