CHAPTER 14 



Table 14-3. — Effects of the 1976 surf clam mortalities as interpreted by representatives of the clam processing industry 



Company 



Estimated 

 employees 



Impact on 

 employment 



Processing 

 level 



Future 

 prospects 



30 persons laid off one-half were reemployed at other 

 plants in the State. 



Other problems faced by the clam processors included 

 difficulties in ordering adequate supplies of clams, rising 

 costs, increased selling prices, and decreased sales volume. 



The 15 seafood wholesalers generally reported no sig- 

 nificant effects to their operations or employment levels 

 during the summer. Employment was reduced in three 

 firms; 1 individual was laid off and 10 persons lost 1 work- 

 ing day a week. Wholesalers indicated a reduction in sea- 

 food supplies, resulting in higher costs. Seven firms had 

 to purchase more fish from out-of-State sources. Also, 

 they felt the adverse publicity from the anoxic event may 

 have discouraged prospective customers. 



LOSSES RELATED TO 

 RECREATIONAL FISHERIES 



A total of 99 party and 213 charter boats operate out 

 of New Jersey's seacoast ports (table 14-4). A telephone 

 survey contacted captains of 17 party (17% of the total 

 fleet) and 23 charter (11%) boats (tables 14-5 and 14-6). 

 The interviews indicated that party and charter boats in 

 Cape May and Wildwood experienced no, or very mini- 

 mal, losses because of the oxygen depletion whereas those 

 to the north had significant losses. Thus, only those boats 

 operating from ports north of Wildwood were included in 

 determinations of economic losses. The survey sample 

 north of Wildwood included 14 party (18% of fleet) and 

 17 charter (10%) boats. North of Wildwood, 93 percent 

 of the party captains and 82 percent of the charter captains 

 indicated they had lost business during July, August, and 

 September, because of the anoxia. A small number of 

 captains also indicated that some fishermen were reluctant 

 to charter trips on account of the adverse publicity about 

 fish contaminated with Kepone and PCB's. This factor 

 was probably responsible for some portion of the eco- 

 nomic losses herein attributed to the offshore anoxia. 

 Party boat losses came primarily from a decrease in the 

 number of fares. The low oxygen severely limited offshore 

 botton and wreck fishing, which is the staple fishery for 



Table 14-4. — Number of party and charter boats sailing five or more 

 times from New Jersey ports during 1975' 



Freeman et al. 1976. 



about half the party boat fleet. In addition, bluefish were 

 distributed farther south than during previous years (Free- 

 man and Turner 1977), and party and charter boats had 

 to make much longer runs, thus adding considerably to 

 their fuel costs. Estimated losses were $1,000 to $47,500 

 for party boats and $400 to $15,000 for charter boats, with 

 per boat averages of $14,000 and $4,000, respectively. 

 Expanding these figures to cover the entire fleet docked 

 north of Wildwood yields estimated economic losses of 

 $1 million to the 76 party boats and $690,000 to the 174 

 charter boats. In total, the charter and party boat fleet 

 lost an estimated $1.7 million during July, August, and 

 September 1976. 



According to the 1975 National Survey of Hunting and 

 Fishing, State residents spent $26 million on charter and 

 party boat fees. Adding nonresidents, these expenditures 

 increase to roughly $49 million. Thus, losses attributed to 

 the anoxia resulted in an estimated 3.5 percent decline in 

 the total annual revenues of the charter and party boat 

 fleets. 



Crew members on party and charter boats also lost 

 money because of less business. Mates on charter boats 

 lost a day's pay for each day of business lost. With fewer 

 fares, many party boats reduced the number of crew mem- 

 bers on board, in the entire fleet, an estimated 93 crew 

 members lost summer jobs and 1 10 received reduced 

 wages. 



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