1064 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES I 



endar year, except that statistics of the oyster fishery are obtained 

 for the season ending in the spring of the following year. The agents 

 conducting these surveys are trained men or recruits working under 

 the close supervision of trained men. Recruits are permitted to work 

 individually only after proving a satisfactory aptitude for the work 

 during their training period. While it is impossible for the few agents 

 available to interview each fisherman in a given locality, the more 

 important ones are visited and a sufficient number of those of lesser 

 importance are interviewed to obtain reliable information on their 

 production. In practice, virtually all wholesale firms are visited, as 

 well as captains of fishing vessels (those of 5 net tons or over) and also 

 all the more important shore fishermen and representative small 

 producers. 



As an aid in locating fishermen, lists of vessel and motor-boat 

 owners are obtained from local customs houses. It is also often, 

 possible to obtain the names of licensed commercial fishermen and 

 occasionally some statistics of the catch from the various State 

 fishery agencies. In the Great Lakes and Pacific Coast States such 

 exceptional cooperation has been obtained from the State agencies 

 in recent 3^ears that only fragmentary surveys are made by the bureau 

 to supplement missing data. 



For the Great Lakes and international lakes of northern Minne- 

 sota the bureau obtains catch statistics and usually the value of the 

 catch dh'ect from the State records. To obtain data on the fisher- 

 men, boats, vessels, and gear the bureau conducts such personal sur- 

 veys among the fishermen as may be necessary to supplement the 

 State records. Statistics of the wholesale industry have not been 

 obtained smce 1922. Annual catch statistics are available since 1913. 



Agents are stationed at Seattle, Wash., who survey each of the 

 Pacific Coast States annually to supplement data that are missing 

 from the State records. In most cases the value of the catch is de- 

 rived from dealers' records and from estimates of prices. In Wash- 

 ington and Oregon the offshore fisheries are surveyed separately for 

 units of operation, catch, and value of the catch. In almost all 

 other respects the statistics are as collected by the States. Statistics 

 of the wholesale industry for this district are obtained largely by 

 personal interview. 



The fisheries of Alaska are conducted primarily by large operators. 

 Sworn statements are required from these operators concerning their 

 operations. These are collected and compiled by the Alaska divi- 

 sion of this bureau. Bulletins containing statistics for each district 

 are released following the survey. 



Atlantic mackerel fishery. — Complete statistics on the catch by the 

 Atlantic mackerel fleet are obtained by combining the figures of those 

 landed at Boston and Gloucester, Mass., and Portland, Me., with 

 those obtained by agents who in recent years have been stationed at 

 other Atlantic ports where mackerel are landed. These agents obtain 

 data on each fare of mackerel landed, similar to the data obtained on 

 the landings by fishing vessels at the three New England ports. 

 Complete statistics of this fishery appear only in the annual reports 

 of this division, although the landings at the principal New England 

 ports appear in the monthly and annual bulletins published for those 

 ports. 



