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Substantial data gaps are identified and discussed voider the headings 

 of (1) vessel inventories and characteristics; (2) cost and earnings; (3) 

 vessel construction costs; (4) price analysis data; (5) employment oppor- 

 tunities and skills of the labor force; (6) fisheries development; and 

 (7) marine recreational fishing benefits. 



The NMFS has historically been concerned primarily with biological data 

 and research. Economic data needs have received relatively low funding 

 priority. The area in which the economic data base is best is that of price 

 data due to the activities of the Statistics and Market News Division of 

 NMFS. The Economics and Marketing Research Division has been responsible for 

 research and analysis of data and has collected some additional data. The 

 recent decision within NMFS to eliminate this division raises questions 

 about the capacity of NMFS to respond adequately to the requirements of the 

 Act. While it is proposed that economics staff will be added to each of the 

 Fisheries Research Centers it is questionable whether these regional staffs 

 will have the time and direction to address issues from a national per- 

 spective. While the addition of economics staffs to the Regional Fisheries 

 Centers is desirable it is not a substitute for a central economics research 

 and planning staff. 



A series of economic data collection tasks is specified in Section IV 

 to remedy the data gaps identified. Program costs associated with these 

 tasks are projected at $2.1-$3.4 million per year over the next decade. 



It is assumed that the Agency responsible for these tasks is NMFS. 

 Certain of the tasks can best be executed by contracting with other federal 

 agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and are so indicated in 

 the task description. 



