Table 3-12—Fishery research projects + 
Environ- Health, Smith- 
National mental Education,  sonian 
Science Protection and Institu- Total 
Commerce Foundation Agency Welfare tion Interior Energy? Defense projects 
numbers. 
Mollusks-crustaceans 144 54 13 42 29 1 1 7 291 
Fish populations 176 13 — — 7 36 1 1 234 
General ecology 95 50 42 1 6 10 15 2 221 
Microorganism- 
plankton 48 100 27 6 7 3 3 13 207 
Productivity- 
biochemistry 53 46 10 19 2 6 19 1 156 
Other animals 29 40 1 9 31 1 — 15 126 
Fish habitats 41 5 8 — 2) 16 5 — vy 
Plants 22 30 8 2 7 1 1 3 74 
Fish physiology- 
biochemistry 25 13 3 14 — — 63 
Total: 633 351 112 93 91 81 46 42 1,449 
*Source: U.S. Comptroller General, The U.S. Fishing Industry—Present Condition and Future of 
Marine Fisheries. 51 pp. 
? Formerly Energy Research and Development Administration. 
For a description of Federal marine research in 
general, which includes mention of the fishery-related 
activities, a 1977 publication of the Committee on 
Atmosphere and Oceans of the Federal Coordinating 
Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology 
provides the most recent information. Its title is 
“Guide to Information on Research in Marine Sci- 
ence and Engineering,” *! and it describes briefly the 
current fishery research of eight agencies and depart- 
ments. 
Despite the sizeable effort over the years in fishery 
research, the data base apparently is not sufficient for 
today’s needs. In some eyes, this condition is because 
much of the research effort has not been sufficiently 
directed at stock assessment—which is critically 
needed in management decisions—but rather at more 
esoteric or basic biological science. The contrasting 
view is that it is precisely this basic biological re- 
search that is fundamental for sound stock assess- 
ments and, therefore, solidly based decisions on har- 
vest quotas, moratoria, or season length, for instance. 
According to a study made by the Congressional 
Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), fishery re- 
search has two major problems at present. One is the 
possible inadequacy of stock assessment information 
to meet today’s management responsibilities, includ- 
ing inadequate testing of existing information in real- 
world situations. The other is an absence of reliable 
socioeconomic data on a variety of elements of the 
fishing industry. 
Basic to the possible inadequacy of stock assess- 
ment information is the nature of the resource being 
studied—it is simply not possible in some cases to 
obtain accurate population counts before harvest. 
" Prepared by Office of Ocean Engineering, NOAA, Rockville, 
Md., May 1977. 
This is especially true with regard to species which 
inhabit the ocean bottom (groundfish). Reported the 
technology office: “(because of the difficulties) assess- 
ment must depend upon inference, statistical proba- 
bilities and the measures developed to understand the 
complicated and interrelated marine environment.” ° 
With the adoption of the fishery conservation zone, 
intense pressure has been put on the Regional Coun- 
cils to have accurate information on the size of the 
fishery stocks they are charged with managing. Too 
low quotas bring protests from foreign or domestic 
fishing interests; too liberal limitations could endanger 
the future health of the species. 
OTA has stated that no stock of fish in the US. 
fishery conservation zone had the completely devel- 
oped information base desired for management deci- 
sions. This Congressional advisory unit listed the 
following characteristics of a completely adequate 
base of data on which sound fishery management 
should be based: ° 
© an understanding of species-stock biology, 
© quantification of the commercial indices which 
allow trends in abundance to be followed, 
@ survey information demonstrating changes in 
stock abundance and age composition, 
survey information giving prerecruit indices, 
age and size composition data, 
historic catch and effort data, 
an understanding of movements and migrations, 
knowledge of the effects of factors such as tem- 
perature and water quality, and 
® knowledge of the interrelations among species. 
6 U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, op. cit. 
note 39, p. 77. 
*Ibid., p. 78. 
% Ibid. 
III—36 
