Abstract: Job satisfaction amongst Nicaraguan lobster fishers The ECOST project attempts to investigate whether the social

costs of fisheries can be measured in quantitative terms by means of global job satisfaction surveys across three continents. Only a few country comparisons of job satisfaction in commercial fisheries had been made and the majority has been in industrial countries ( avinc! and "onnereau# $%%&'. This paper investigates job satisfaction amongst different types of lobster fishers in (icaragua# a survey that has been carried out within the ECOST project. )n this survey job satisfaction is measured in five categories in line with "aslow*s hierarchy of needs+ basic needs# social needs# self,actuali-ation# management and the value of nature. )n addition three overall questions on job satisfaction have been added relating to whether a fisher would enter a job outside of fishing or move to another type of fishing and whether he would advice a young person to enter the fishery. The survey was carried out across different fishing subsectors# or m.tiers# of the lobster fishery in (icaragua including differences in scale (small,scale as well as industrial' as well as different gear type use (trapping versus diving'. This paper investigates the scoring of job satisfaction with regards to the different categories# the best and worst scoring items and e/plores whether the position of a fisher (e.g crewmember versus boatowner' or use of different scale or gear type might affect the outcome and what implications this might have for management.