67 



The current dearth of economic data reflects past funding within NMFS 

 and also the general antipathy toward collection of such data which exists 

 within the Bureau of the Budget. The response of the system has been to 

 finance various ad hoc studies through universities and private firms. 

 Fishermen often complain that they find the frequent surveys a nuisance. 

 Their complaint is understandable, particularly since much overlap is 

 inevitable, given the decentralized ad hoc nature of economic data collec- 

 tion for U.S. Fisheries. There is flavor of "Catch 22" here in that most of 

 these ad hoc surveys would not have been necessary had support for a compre- 

 hensive national program existed in the first place. 



