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  STATISTICAL 
  SURVEY 
  PROCEDURE 
  

  

  Shore 
  and 
  Vessel 
  Fisheries 
  — 
  In 
  general, 
  statistics 
  of 
  the 
  shore 
  fisheries 
  collected 
  

   by 
  NMFS 
  representatives 
  include 
  data 
  on 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  casual 
  and 
  regular 
  fishermen; 
  number 
  of 
  

   motor 
  and 
  other 
  fishing 
  boats 
  (craft 
  of 
  less 
  than 
  5 
  net 
  tons 
  capacity 
  are 
  called 
  "boats"); 
  type 
  and 
  

   quantity 
  of 
  gear 
  used; 
  and 
  the 
  volume, 
  value, 
  and 
  method 
  of 
  capture 
  of 
  each 
  species 
  for 
  each 
  lo- 
  

   cality 
  or 
  group 
  of 
  localities 
  . 
  The 
  availability 
  of 
  data 
  collected 
  by 
  some 
  State 
  fishery 
  agencies 
  

   obviates 
  the 
  necessity 
  of 
  detailed 
  surveys 
  by 
  NMFS 
  personnel. 
  

  

  Statistics 
  on 
  the 
  vessel 
  fisheries 
  include 
  data 
  on 
  the 
  number 
  in 
  the 
  crew; 
  rig 
  of 
  vessels; 
  

   gross 
  tonnage; 
  kind 
  and 
  quantity 
  of 
  gear 
  used; 
  and 
  volume, 
  value, 
  and 
  method 
  of 
  capture 
  of 
  each 
  

   species. 
  Craft 
  having 
  a 
  capacity 
  of 
  5 
  net 
  tons 
  or 
  over 
  are 
  called 
  "vessels." 
  As 
  in 
  the 
  shore 
  

   fisheries, 
  the 
  availability 
  of 
  figures 
  collected 
  by 
  State 
  fishery 
  agencies 
  may 
  eliminate 
  the 
  neces- 
  

   sity 
  of 
  Service 
  agents 
  collecting 
  these 
  data 
  for 
  individual 
  vessels. 
  Information 
  on 
  the 
  year 
  ves- 
  

   sels 
  were 
  built 
  was 
  assembled 
  for 
  1961 
  and 
  1966. 
  

  

  Statistics 
  on 
  the 
  quantity 
  of 
  gear 
  operated 
  indicate 
  the 
  maximum 
  number 
  of 
  units 
  fished 
  at 
  

   any 
  one 
  time 
  during 
  the 
  year. 
  Gear 
  carried 
  in 
  reserve 
  for 
  replacement 
  is 
  not 
  reported. 
  

  

  All 
  persons 
  engaged 
  in 
  commercial 
  fishing 
  operations 
  are 
  included 
  as 
  fishermen. 
  In 
  most 
  ar- 
  

   eas, 
  fishermen 
  not 
  on 
  vessels 
  have 
  been 
  divided 
  into 
  "regular" 
  and 
  "casual." 
  Regular 
  fishermen 
  

   are 
  defined 
  as 
  those 
  who 
  receive 
  more 
  than 
  one-half 
  their 
  annual 
  income 
  from 
  fishing, 
  whereas 
  

   casual 
  fishermen 
  are 
  those 
  who 
  receive 
  less 
  than 
  one-half 
  their 
  annual 
  compensation 
  from 
  fish- 
  

   ing 
  . 
  It 
  has 
  not 
  been 
  possible 
  to 
  separate 
  regular 
  from 
  casual 
  fishermen 
  on 
  the 
  Pacific 
  Coast. 
  

  

  Since 
  1942, 
  the 
  catch 
  of 
  fish 
  and 
  shellfish 
  has 
  been 
  credited 
  to 
  the 
  port 
  at 
  which 
  it 
  was 
  

   landed. 
  Prior 
  to 
  the 
  survey 
  for 
  that 
  year, 
  it 
  was 
  the 
  practice 
  of 
  NMFS 
  to 
  credit 
  the 
  entire 
  catch 
  

   of 
  a 
  vessel 
  to 
  the 
  principal 
  port 
  at 
  which 
  fish 
  or 
  shellfish 
  were 
  unloaded, 
  regardless 
  of 
  the 
  ac- 
  

   tual 
  home 
  port 
  of 
  the 
  vessels. 
  This 
  policy 
  was 
  discontinued 
  since 
  it 
  quite 
  often 
  resulted 
  in 
  in- 
  

   consistencies 
  by 
  crediting 
  landings 
  of 
  some 
  species 
  to 
  areas 
  far 
  removed 
  from 
  localities 
  in 
  which 
  

   they 
  are 
  commonly 
  taken 
  . 
  An 
  outstanding 
  example 
  of 
  this 
  is 
  the 
  southern 
  trawl 
  fishery 
  conducted 
  

   off 
  the 
  New 
  Jersey, 
  .Maryland, 
  Virginia, 
  and 
  North 
  Carolina 
  coasts. 
  Some 
  fishing 
  vessels 
  from 
  

   New 
  England 
  operate 
  in 
  this 
  fishery 
  for 
  6 
  to 
  10 
  weeks 
  during 
  the 
  winter 
  season. 
  Prior 
  to 
  the 
  sur- 
  

   vey 
  for 
  1942, 
  the 
  catch 
  of 
  these 
  vessels, 
  consisting 
  principally 
  of 
  fish 
  common 
  to 
  Middle 
  Atlan- 
  

   tic 
  waters, 
  was 
  credited 
  to 
  Massachusetts. 
  Under 
  the 
  present 
  system, 
  this 
  catch 
  is 
  credited 
  to 
  

   the 
  Middle 
  Atlantic 
  ports 
  where 
  it 
  is 
  landed. 
  

  

  Since 
  1949 
  on 
  the 
  Pacific 
  Coast 
  and 
  1951 
  for 
  the 
  remainder 
  of 
  the 
  country, 
  craft, 
  fishermen, 
  

   and 
  gear 
  have 
  been 
  reported 
  for 
  each 
  State 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  fished. 
  A 
  total 
  exclusive 
  of 
  duplica- 
  

   tion 
  is 
  shown 
  for 
  each 
  section 
  and 
  for 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  as 
  a 
  whole. 
  Prior 
  to 
  the 
  surveys 
  for 
  

   1949, 
  each 
  craft 
  on 
  the 
  Pacific 
  Coast 
  was 
  credited 
  to 
  its 
  home 
  port 
  unless 
  it 
  did 
  not 
  fish 
  from 
  

   that 
  port 
  during 
  the 
  year. 
  In 
  that 
  case, 
  it 
  was 
  credited 
  to 
  the 
  locality 
  where 
  it 
  landed 
  the 
  great- 
  

   est 
  portion 
  of 
  its 
  catch. 
  Prior 
  to 
  the 
  survey 
  for 
  1951, 
  each 
  craft 
  on 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  and 
  Gulf 
  Coasts 
  

   and 
  interior 
  waters 
  was 
  credited 
  to 
  the 
  port 
  where 
  it 
  landed 
  the 
  greatest 
  portion 
  of 
  its 
  catch 
  dur- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  year. 
  This 
  system 
  was 
  changed 
  to 
  provide 
  more 
  accurate 
  data 
  on 
  the 
  total 
  number 
  of 
  craft 
  

   operating 
  in 
  a 
  given 
  State. 
  With 
  the 
  increased 
  mobility 
  of 
  the 
  fishing 
  fleet 
  in 
  recent 
  years, 
  the 
  

   number 
  of 
  vessels 
  fishing 
  in 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  State 
  has 
  increased 
  greatly. 
  

  

  Beginning 
  with 
  data 
  for 
  1951, 
  the 
  reporting 
  of 
  units 
  of 
  gear 
  was 
  standardized 
  so 
  that 
  nets 
  or 
  

   lines 
  made 
  up 
  of 
  small 
  units 
  for 
  ease 
  in 
  handling, 
  but 
  fastened 
  together 
  in 
  fishing, 
  were 
  counted 
  

   as 
  a 
  single 
  unit 
  rather 
  than 
  as 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  smaller 
  units. 
  Prior 
  to 
  1951, 
  the 
  small 
  units 
  were 
  

   sometimes 
  counted 
  as 
  individual 
  pieces 
  of 
  gear 
  even 
  though 
  they 
  were 
  combined 
  for 
  fishing. 
  

   This 
  rule 
  does 
  not 
  apply 
  to 
  halibut 
  longlines 
  or 
  setlines 
  on 
  the 
  Pacific 
  Coast. 
  In 
  this 
  fishery, 
  

   each 
  skate 
  of 
  gear 
  is 
  counted 
  as 
  one 
  line, 
  even 
  though 
  fastened 
  together 
  in 
  fishing, 
  because 
  the 
  

   International 
  Pacific 
  Halibut 
  Commission 
  uses 
  a 
  skate 
  as 
  a 
  unit 
  in 
  its 
  studies 
  of 
  fishing 
  intensity. 
  

  

  