According to a new report by NOAA’s Fisheries Service US fishing communities is rich with diversity. It is said that the report has detailed the diverse demographics of 222 American saltwater fishing communities will help the agency design management strategies that will lead to more sustainable fisheries. Jim Balsiger, NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service, opined that fisheries management depends on an understanding of how people in coastal communities interact with marine ecosystems and how their economies work.
He also states that this report gives a clearer picture of the people living in America’s fishing communities and their needs. In the report it is mentioned that the fishing communities range in size from small Downeast communities such as Winter Harbor, Maine, to cities such as San Diego, California. Some have large populations of people who speak a language other than English at home such as Ni’ihau, Hawaii (93.1 percent), while others have far fewer such as Theodore, Ala. where all but 2.8 percent of persons speak English at home.
The report also present clear picture of education levels, poverty levels and ethnicity to help paint a clearer picture of each of these coastal towns and cities and how they compare to other communities in their states and the nation. It is told that the report is the culmination of several years of data collection and analysis. NOAA plans to update this report once the agency has information from the upcoming 2010 national census.
