Crescent City Profile - California Sea Grant

travel due to the much more limited fisheryopenings locally, working especially off SanFrancisco or Coos Bay, Oregon. During crabseason, most fishermen stay in the area to fish,although some local fishermen participatein the southern crab season opener off SanFrancisco. Coonstripe shrimp and rockfishhook-and-line fishing are focused locally.Because the catch is perishable and the timeand fuel costs associated with transiting by seais considerable, those who travel to fish usuallydeliver to a port near the fishing grounds eitherto a buyer who operates at Crescent City or toa different buyer.Revenue Per BoatTrends in aggregate revenues do not necessarilycorrelate with how individual vessels may befaring in terms of revenue. To illustrate this point,we estimated average annual revenue per boatfor Crescent City boats (defined as boats thatearned a plurality of their ex-vessel revenuesfrom landings at Crescent City). The number ofCrescent City boats was 353–540 (average=475)between 1981 and 1984, declined to 102–301(average=201) between 1985 and 2002, thendeclined further to 88–122 (average=110)thereafter. Over these same periods, revenueper boat increased from $32,100–$41,300(average=$37,600) to $73,100–$121,200(average=$88,500) to $77,400–$216,200(average=$161,400); (Figure 16). The increase inaverage annual revenue per vessel between 1985and 2002 can be traced to the marked reductionin the number of small-revenue salmon trollersin the early 1980s. The more recent revenueincrease (since 2003) is largely due to unusuallyhigh crab landings during that period.To better understand how vessel revenue isaffected by an individual’s participation inparticular fisheries, we assigned each CrescentCity boat to its ‘principal fishery’, that is, thefishery from which the boat derived the pluralityof its annual revenue. For vessels associated witheach principal fishery, we then estimated averageannual revenue per boat (based on their landingsin all fisheries at all West Coast ports). Estimatesfor three-year periods over the last three decadesindicate a decline in the number of Crescent550225Boats500450400350300250200150100500Number of boatsRevenue per boat198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007Figure 16. Number of boats that earned a plurality of their revenue from landings at Crescent City, andaverage annual (total West Coast) revenue per boat, 1981–2007.Crescent City Fishing Community Profile 372001751501251007550250Revenue Per Boat (thousands, 2007$)