Comparison of Job Satisfaction in Six New Jersey Fisheries: Implications for Management

New Jersey's marine fisheries exhibit unusual diversity within a small geographical area-contrasting in terms of prey species, gear size and type, trip duration, seasonality, regulatory policies, and income levels. One might expect these differences to engender different patterns of job satisfaction. Based on a survey of several hundred fishermen, the paper compares baymen, oystermen, sea clarnmers, scallopers, draggers, and longliners with respect to thirty-three components of job satisfaction. Results show significant group-group contrasts in the nonmonetary rewards derived from fishing, even though all those surveyed were clearly commercial fishermen. One implication of these findings is that different regulatory tactics should be used if and when additional regulation of the fisheries becomes necessary.