SECTION 13 



STATISTICAL SURVEY PROCEDURE 



"Fishery Statistics of the United States" (Statistical Digest) is prepared by the Resource 

 Statistics Division/National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), U .S . Department of Commerce, 

 and is a continuation of a series inaugurated by predecessor organizations in the Department of 

 Interior, Commerce, and Commerce and Labor, and the U.S. Fish Commission. The Statistical 

 Digest contains detailed statistics and analytical textual reviews on the commercial fisheries of 

 the United States. Included are data on the quantity and value of the commercial landings of 

 fishery products by States, larger geographic regions and gear; and the number of persons, ves- 

 sels, boats, and fishing gear engaged in the fisheries. In the sections on the Great Lakes and 

 Mississippi River, the catch is also tabulated by water bodies. The Statistical Digest also con- 

 tains data on the volume and value of processed fishery products, freezings and cold storage 

 holdings, foreign trade, and other related information. 



Following is a brief history of the statistical surveys that have been conducted in the United 

 States and a description of the procedures used to collect the different kinds of data in the var- 

 ious geographical areas of the country. 



History — The first comprehensive statistical study of the fisheries and fishery industries 

 of the United States was made for the year 1880 by George Brown Goode, Assistant Director of 

 the U.S. National Museum, and associates, with the cooperation of the Commissioner of Fisher- 

 ies and the Superintendent of the Tenth Census. Data for specific fisheries or geographic areas 

 for years prior to 1880, also were collected in the early survey and recorded in Mr. Goode's re- 

 ports. The survey for 1880, however, did not include the Mississippi River and its tributaries. 

 Periodic general surveys of a limited number of States or limited areas of the United States were 

 made for the years from 1880 to 1907 and from 1909 to 1928. The first complete statistical can- 

 vass of the entire United States was made for 1908 by the Bureau of the Census. The next gen- 

 eral survey of the entire United States was not made until 1931, although complete data for all 

 areas, excluding the Mississippi River and its tributaries, were collected for 1929 and 1930. 

 Complete data on the catch and operating units for these same sections were also collected for 

 1932. In the latter survey, however, lack of sufficient funds prohibited collection of data on 

 the wholesale and manufacturing operations except those data collected as a part of the canned 

 fishery products and byproducts survey. Various geographic areas were surveyed during the years 

 from 1933to 1949, inclusive, A complete survey of all sections of the country was made for 1950, 

 Since 1951, all of the coastal areas have been canvassed annually, and catch records have been 

 obtained for the Great Lakes area. Complete operating unit and catch data have been obtained for 

 all areas since 1954, except that only a partial survey of the Mississippi River and its tributaries 

 was made for 1961, Data on the wholesale and manufacturing industries were collected in all of 

 the surveys from 19 33 to 1940, inclusive . In the years from 1941 to 1949, inclusive, and in 1951, 

 lack of experienced personnel and budgetary limitations precluded the collection of data on whole- 

 sale and manufacturing firms except for those data collected as part of the canned fishery prod- 

 ucts, industrial products, and packaged fish surveys. 



The chart on page 378 indicates the years for which surveys have been made in the various 

 sections. Since the surveys of the fisheries have varied in completeness, three legends have 

 been used for the years shown in the chart to indicate whether complete, partial, or no surveys 

 were conducted in the individual regions. The designation "complete survey" has been used to 

 indicate that basic operating unit and catch data were obtained and that complete information was 

 collected on employment in wholesale and manufacturing establishments and on the production of 

 manufactured fishery products. The legend "partial survey" usually indicates that operating unit 



