7 Cost Summary

This chapter includes fleet cost summaries (mean, median, standard deviation) as well as cost contributors by fleet. There are five distinct contributors included, listed in Chapter 5.3. These include Repairs/Upgrades (Item 1), Vessel Costs (Item 2), Trip Expenses (Item 3), Crew Payments (Item 4), and Overhead (Item 5). Quota costs (Item 6) represent a small percentage of total fleet costs and are included in supplemental tables.

By primary gear, magnitude of mean costs from highest to lowest follows a similar order as with revenue- scallop dredge, trawl, longline, pot/trap, gillnet, handgear. The highest cost gear types are generally more crew-intensive with crew expenses accounting for over 35% of total costs among scallop dredge and trawl vessels. Gillnet and pot/trap vessels have the highest share of trip expenses. For pot/trap vessels, high trip expenses can be explained in part by the cost of bait. For handgear vessels, the lowest cost gear group, repairs/upgrades are the largest share of costs. Overhead costs as a share of total costs are similar across primary gear groups, ranging from 5-10%. Quota net costs are not included in the figures as they represent a relatively small portion of total costs. Some gear groups have negative quota net costs, in which leasing revenue exceeds costs. However, for some individual vessels, quota leasing may represent a substantial cost.

Table 7.1: Total Cost by Primary Gear
Gear Response Sample Response (%) Mean Median Standard Deviation
Gillnet 9 89 10% $129,621 $130,338 $86,178
Handgear 53 365 15% $66,257 $28,852 $106,644
Longline 4 24 17% $278,782 C* C*
Pot/Trap 158 1347 12% $216,086 $172,282 $238,184
Scallop Dredge 28 219 13% $641,177 $393,515 $517,855
Trawl 26 190 14% $633,742 $497,358 $595,718
Note:
C* indicates data not presented to protect confidentiality
Pie chart by primary gear showing the distribution of costs incurred. Five cost categories are presented- crew payments, trip expenses, overhead, repairs/upgrades, and vessel costs. Crew payments are highest in the scallop dredge group at 42.5% of total costs and in the trawl group at 35.1% of total costs. Trip expenses are highest in the gillnet group at 37.0% of total costs and in the pot/trap group at 34.1% of total costs. Repairs/upgrades are highest in the handgear group at 45.5% of total costs. Overhead costs encompass a similar percentage of total costs for all gear groups at 5-10%. Vessel costs are also relatively similar percentages, ranging from 8-18%.

Figure 7.1: Distribution of Costs by Primary Gear

Table 7.2: Net Quota Leasing Costs as a Percentage of Total Costs by Primary Gear
Gear Quota Percent
Gillnet 3.1 %
Handgear 0.1 %
Pot/Trap -1.1 %
Scallop Dredge 1.6 %
Trawl -7.2 %


By FMP, a number of fisheries have similar mean costs. Groundfish vessels have the highest mean costs, though herring, scallop, and squid, mackerel, butterfish all have mean values only slightly lower. The groundfish, scallop and squid, mackerel, butterfish fisheries are the most crew-intensive, with crew payments exceeding 35% of total costs for each. The lobster fishery has relatively higher trip expenses than most other FMPs, with 34% of total costs in this category. Net Quota costs are not included in the figures as they represent a relatively small portion of total costs; the highest share was 4.8% for groundfish. Some FMP groups have negative quota net costs, in which leasing revenue exceeds costs. However, for some individual vessels, quota leasing may represent a substantial cost.

Table 7.3: Total Cost by Primary Fishery
Fishery Response Sample Response (%) Mean Median Standard Deviation
Channeled Whelk 3 23 13% $92,023 C* C*
Dogfish 3 22 14% $75,131 C* C*
Groundfish 7 52 13% $691,690 $576,243 $691,656
Herring 4 6 67% $603,988 C* C*
Highly Migratory Species 34 196 17% $114,229 $54,767 $151,817
Lobster 151 1274 12% $223,555 $180,388 $241,003
Monkfish 3 20 15% $148,137 C* C*
Scallop 28 227 12% $641,177 $393,515 $517,855
Squid, Mackerel, Butterfish 9 60 15% $686,103 $378,477 $815,652
Striped Bass 12 65 18% $22,180 $15,983 $18,492
Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass 24 135 18% $165,129 $96,579 $190,916
Note:
C* indicates data not presented to protect confidentiality
Pie chart by primary fishery showing the distribution of costs incurred. Five cost categories are presented- crew payments, trip expenses, overhead, repairs/upgrades, and vessel costs. Crew payments are highest in the scallop group, squid, mackerel, butterfish group, and groundfish group with the proportion of total costs from this cost category being 42.5%, 35.8%, and 35.3% respectively. Trip expenses are highest in the lobster group at 34.3% of total costs. Repairs/upgrades are highest in the handgear group at 43.5% of total costs. Overhead costs encompass a similar percentage of total costs for all fisheries, generally from 6-9%. Vessel costs are also relatively similar percentages, generally ranging from 7-18%.

Figure 7.2: Distribution of Costs by Primary Fishery

Table 7.4: Net Quota Leasing Costs as a Percentage of Total Costs by Primary Fishery
Fishery Quota Percent
Groundfish 4.8 %
Highly Migratory Species 2 %
Lobster -0.9 %
Scallop 1.6 %
Squid, Mackerel, Butterfish -22 %
Striped Bass 0 %
Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass -1.7 %


When primary gear and FMP are combined, trawl-groundfish has the highest mean costs. Within primary gear types, a considerable difference in costs is found across fisheries. For example, mean and median values for lobster pot/trap vessels are greater than those values for fluke, black sea bass, and scup pot/trap vessels. The top cost contributors are generally similar within a gear group across fisheries. For example, all trawl fisheries have relatively high crew payments, ~35% of total costs. Handgear fisheries have relatively large shares of repair/maintenance/upgrade/improvement (RMUI) costs. Pot/trap fisheries have relatively high trip expenses, possibly due to the cost of bait. Quota net costs are not included in the figures as they represent a relatively small portion of total costs. Some gear/FMP groups have negative quota net costs, in which leasing revenue exceeds costs. However, for some individual vessels, quota leasing may represent a substantial cost.

Table 7.5: Total Cost by Primary Gear/Fishery
Gear-Fishery Response Sample Response (%) Mean Median Standard Deviation
Gillnet-Monkfish 3 20 15% $148,137 C* C*
Gillnet-Other 6 69 9% $120,362 $99,957 $87,266
Handgear-Highly Migratory Species 31 184 17% $90,603 $36,625 $132,555
Handgear-Other 3 71 4% $62,075 C* C*
Handgear-Striped Bass 10 54 19% $17,055 $14,266 $11,727
Handgear-Summer Flounder, Scup, BSB 9 56 16% $38,459 $29,861 $32,379
Longline-Highly Migratory Species 3 10 30% $358,366 C* C*
Pot/Trap-Lobster 149 1268 12% $224,142 $180,388 $242,570
Pot/Trap-Summer Flounder, Scup, BSB 6 23 26% $78,071 $96,579 $50,690
Pot/Trap-Whelk 3 23 13% $92,023 C* C*
Scallop Dredge-Scallop 28 215 13% $641,177 $393,515 $517,855
Trawl-Groundfish 5 41 12% $906,413 $613,991 $714,862
Trawl-Other 4 40 10% $659,134 C* C*
Trawl-Squid, Mackerel, Butterfish 8 53 15% $770,017 $661,546 $829,399
Trawl-Summer Flounder, Scup, BSB 9 56 16% $349,838 $374,018 $200,047
Note:
C* indicates data not presented to protect confidentiality
Pie chart by primary gear/fishery showing the distribution of costs incurred. Five cost categories are presented- crew payments, trip expenses, overhead, repairs/upgrades, and vessel costs. Trawl vessels, regardless of fishery, show a high crew expense of 34-36% of total costs. Pot/trap vessels show a high proportion of total costs as trip expenses with lobster vessels within that gear group at 34.3% and summer flounder, scup, black sea bass at 25.7%. Handgear vessels show a high proportion of total costs from repairs/upgrades with all fisheries at 30% or greater. Overhead costs encompass a similar percentage of total costs for all groups, generally from 4-10%. Vessel costs for trawl vessels are 6-10% across fisheries and 8% for the two pot/trap fisheries. Within the handgear group fisheries, vessel costs are a much more substantial portion of the total, ranging from 12-33%.

Figure 7.3: Distribution of Costs by Primary Gear/Fishery

Table 7.6: Net Quota Leasing Costs as a Percentage of Total Costs by Primary Gear/Fishery
Gear-Fishery Quota Percent
Gillnet-Other 5.1 %
Handgear-Highly Migratory Species 0.1 %
Handgear-Striped Bass 0 %
Handgear-Summer Flounder, Scup, BSB 0.1 %
Pot/Trap-Lobster -0.9 %
Pot/Trap-Summer Flounder, Scup, BSB -13 %
Scallop Dredge-Scallop 1.6 %
Trawl-Groundfish 4.3 %
Trawl-Squid, Mackerel, Butterfish -22 %
Trawl-Summer Flounder, Scup, BSB -0.2 %