3 



It is rather, one component of the Fisheries Technology Assessment Project 

 of the Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress. 



C. Methods and Procedures 



As indicated earlier, the Act requires that economic factors be 

 reflected in fisheries development management and conservation. In order 

 to include economic factors the Councils must have access to certain 

 minimal economic information. This Report contains an interpretive analysis 

 of the Act in terms of what these informational requirements are expected 

 to include. The current economic data base is then described and compared 

 with needs to identify data deficiencies and program needs. Visits were 

 made to Washington, D.C., and Regional Offices of the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service and to several State Capitals to obtain descriptions of 

 current economic data bases through interviews with appropriate Federal 

 and State personnel. In these interviews an attempt was made to elicit 

 opinions with respect to the subject of data needs as well as descriptions 

 of the status quo.^ 



D. Economic Information Implications of the Act 



The discussion below attempts to define certain information implica- 

 tions of the Act in very general terms. More specific discussion of data 

 needs is deferred to Section III of this report. 



D. 1. Commercial Fisheries 



(a) Domestic 



(i) Optimum Sustainable Yield (Section 2(b)(4)) 



(Section 3(18) (A) and (B)) 



^A list of individuals and agencies contacted is contained in 

 Appendix B of this Report. 



