This survey gathered and analyze economic data from seafood processors throughout the states in the Gulf region. The survey sought to collect financial variables related to the firms market value, indebtedness, sales revenues, and selected itemized expenditures, plus procurement and distribution information. The basic unit of analysis was a seafood processing firm that performed some level of packaging, product modification, and other transformative process beyond harvesting seafood or acting as a first receiver in the seafood value chain. The population of seafood processing firms included all firms participating in the NMFSs annual survey of seafood processors for the baseline study year of 2009, a year specifically selected as a period that might serve as a representative year for business performance purposes. The survey was conducted in-person on location.

This mail survey collected data on the economic performance of active commercial shrimp harvesters who primarily operated in inshore waters of western Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas throughout 2008. It is designed to complement a similar economic data collection of commercial shrimp harvesters in offshore waters of the Gulf (those holding a federal shrimp permit). Data regarding vessel values, indebtedness, commercial shrimp harvesting activities, revenues, and expenses were collected in order to produce simple standardized financial statements, including a balance sheet, cash flow statement, and income statement for the average or typical vessel.

This dataset contains information angler experiences and preferences for recreational fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

This mail survey collected economic data on inshore commercial shrimp fishermen who held licenses to commercially harvest shrimp in state waters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico throughout 2012. It is designed to complement a similar economic data collection of commercial shrimp harvesters in offshore waters of the Gulf (those holding a federal shrimp permit). Data regarding vessel values, indebtedness, commercial shrimp harvesting activities, revenues, and expenses were collected in order to produce simple standardized financial statements, including a balance sheet, cash flow statement, and income statement for the average or typical vessel.

This survey provides economic data related to marine recreational fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. The data collected include preference and opinion information necessary to accurately measure the economic effects of regulation changes on the recreational fishing community. The mail survey design was stratified to cover three sampling frames: 1) the MRIP saltwater angler registry for private boat anglers 2) the LA for-hire angler license frame for these anglers and 3) volunteers intercepted by MRIP for for-hire anglers outside of LA. A stated preference choice experiment allows for the calculation of willingness to pay related to four important species.

This survey collected data to generate a comprehensive review of the economic and policy status of the recreational for-hire sector in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, including charter, head, and guide boats. The survey created a socioeconomic dataset that can be used to analyze future economic, environmental, and policy questions, including those related to natural disturbances and the ongoing regulation of resource utilization in the Gulf. The specific project objectives included a) collecting economic, social, and policy data for all segments of the for-hire sector b) identifying groups of respondents with relatively homogeneous characteristics, thereby defining operational classes that may be the focus of targeted, management-based economic and policy analysis and c) constructing costs, earnings, and attitudinal profiles by operational class and state/region. The survey was conducted by mail, internet, and in-person interviews in 2010.

Vessel, gear and biological data collected by fishery observers from the commerical Gulf of Mexico menhaden fishery.

Large vessel surveys were conducted during June-August and Oct-Nov, 2010 in the north central Gulf of Mexico to collect data on marine mammal spatial distribution and abundance in the region of the Deepwater horizon oil spill. . Visual survey data ere collected following standard protocols and are intended for analysis using the line-transect Distance method to provide estimates of abundance for marine mammal stocks within the survey area. Each survey includes a collection of data sets including visual survey data (survey effort and sightings of marine mammals and other species), passive and active acoustics data, sample collection information, and physical oceanographic data. These data have been used to support assessments of injury to marine mammals associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

This chapter examines the methodological challenges associated with collecting economic data from the for-hire fishing sector. A cost and earnings survey of charter boat operators in the Southeast United States serves as a case study. In the case study, a telephone survey was used to collect information about individual trips and a mail survey was used to collect complementary data about annual expenses. The results of the case study are used in the discussion of economic data requirements and survey methodology most applicable to the charter boat industry. Recommendations are provided for improving the design of surveys to collect economic data from the for-hire sector.

The Southeast Fisheries Science Center Mississippi Laboratories conducts standardized fisheries independent resource surveys in the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and U.S. Caribbean to provide abundance and distribution information to support regional and international stock assessments. The reef fish survey is conducted primarily on the outer continental shelf of the Gulf of Mexico along topographic features (e.g. reefs, banks and ledges) between Brownsville, TX to the Dry Tortugas, FL. A two-stage sampling design is used with the first stage or primary sampling units being blocks 10 minutes of latitude by 10 minutes of longitude and the second stage being randomly selected sites within the blocks. The first-stage units are selected by stratified random sampling, with stratum boundaries defined by geographic region (4 regions: South Florida, Northeast Gulf, Louisiana-Texas Shelf, and South Texas), and by reef habitat area (Blocks < 20 km² reef, Blocks > 20 km² reef). Sampling is conducted using a video camera array, vertical line gear and chevron traps with approximately 400 video cameras, 400 vertical line and 100 traps conducted. The camera array consists of four housings positioned orthogonally and center mounted at a height of 51 cm above the bottom of the array. Each housing contains a pair of black-and-white Videre stereo cameras along with a color mpeg camera. Sampling of reef sites with video cameras occurs only during daylight hours, with the first gear deployment one hour after sunrise and the last gear retrieval one hour prior to sunset. Video arrays soak for 35 minutes. At sites selected for fish sampling, a chevron (or arrow) fish trap or vertical line is used to capture fish for biological samples. The chevron fish trap is constructed with 1.5-inch vinyl-clad mesh. In its greatest dimensions, the trap is 1.76 m in length, 1.52 m in width and 0.61 m in depth. A 0.4 m by 0.29 m blow out panel is placed on one side and kept closed using 7-day magnesium releases. The fish trap soaks for one hour and is baited with squid. The vertical line consists of a mainline with 10 gangions. One 8/0, 11/0 or 15/0 circle hook is attached to each gangion and baited with mackerel (Scomber scombrus). The mainline is soaked for five minutes. Most of the animals captured are measured, weighed, tagged and then released. Those individuals which are moribund or have expired are retained to collect biological data pertaining to the life history of these fishes. Habitat mapping is conducted using the SIMRAD ME70 multibeam echosounder. At each site hydrological data is collected using Conductivity Temperature Depth sensor (CTD).