U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
National Marine Fisheries Service,
Fisheries of the United States, annual.
For more information:
http://www.st.nmfs.gov/st1/index.html
TERMS
The collection of U.S. commercial fisheries landings data is a joint state and federal responsibility. The
cooperative State-Federal fishery data collection systems obtain landings data from state-mandated fishery
or mollusk trip-tickets, landing weighout reports provided by seafood dealers, federal logbooks of fishery
catch and effort, and shipboard and portside interview and biological sampling of catches. State fishery
agencies are usually the primary collectors of landings data, but in some states NMFS and state personnel
cooperatively collect the data. Survey methodology differs by state, but NMFS makes supplemental
surveys to ensure that the data from different states and years are comparable.
Statistics for each state represent a census of the volume and value of finfish and shellfish landed and
sold at the dock rather than an expanded estimate of landings based on sampling data. Principal landing
statistics that are collected consists of the pounds and ex-vessel dollar value of landings identified by
species, year, month, state, county, port, water and fishing gear. Most states get their landings data from
seafood dealers who submit monthly reports of the weight and value of landings by vessel. Increasingly,
however, states are switching to mandatory trip-tickets to gather landings data. At the conclusion of every
fishing trip, seafood dealers and fishermen indicate their landings by species on trip-tickets and may be
required to record other data such as fishing effort and area fished.
Landings are reported in pounds of round (live) weight for all species or groups except univalve and
bivalve mollusks, such as clams, mussels, oysters and scallops, which are reported as pounds of meats
(excludes shell weight). Our landings data may sometimes differ from state-reported landings due to our
reporting of mollusks in meat weights rather than gallons, shellweight, or bushels. Also, we include some
species such as kelp and oysters that are sometimes reported by state agricultural agencies and may not be
included with state fishery agency landings data.
Landings do not include aquaculture products except for clams, mussels and oysters.
*
*
*
*
referenced on dataset section Notes (#2)
