This series represents a secondary level of scientifiic publishing. It employs thorough internal

scientific review and technical and copy editing, but not necessarily external scientific review.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

William Daley, Secretary

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

D. James Baker, Administrator

National Marine Fisheries Service

Rolland A. Schmitten, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries

Northeast Region

Northeast Fisheries Science Center

Woods Hole, Massachusetts

December 1996

NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE-112

Data Description and Statistical Summary

of the 1983-92 Cost-Earnings Data Base

for Northeast U.S. Commercial Fishing Vessels

A Guide to Understanding and Use of the Data Base

Amy B. Gautam1 and Andrew W. Kitts2

1National Marine Fisheries Service, Silver Spring, MD 20910

2National Marine Fisheries Service, Woods Hole, MA 02543
Recent issues in this series:

94. Summary of the Symposium on the Northeast U.S. Shelf Ecosystem: Stress, Mitigation, and Sustainabilty -- 12-15

August 1991, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, Rhode Island. By Kenneth Sherman, N. Jaworski, and T.

Smayda, eds. October 1992. v + 30 p., 3 app. NTIS Access. No. PB94-103439.

95. Status of Fishery Resources off the Northeastern United States for 1992. By Conservation and Utilization Division,

Northeast Fisheries Science Center. October 1992. iv + 133 p., 60 figs., 67 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB93-144103.

96. An Indexed Bibliography of Northeast Fisheries Science Center Publications and Reports for 1989. By Jon A. Gibson.

November 1992. iii + 20 p. NTIS Access. No. PB93-213601.

97. Water-column Thermal Structure in the Middle Atlantic Bight and Gulf of Maine during 1978-92. By Robert L. Benway,

Kevin P. Thomas, and Jack W. Jossi. March 1993. viii + 154 p., 147 figs., 2 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB93-223147.

98. Marine Invertebrate Cell Culture: Breaking the Barriers -- Proceedings of an International Workshop, 16 June 1991,

Anaheim, California. By Aaron Rosenfield, ed. March 1993. vi + 25 p., 2 tables, 3 app. NTIS Access. No. PB93-213593.

99. Sole Ownership of Living Marine Resources. By Steven F. Edwards, Allen J. Bejda, and R. Anne Richards. May 1993. vii +

21 p., 6 figs., 1 table. NTIS Access. No. PB94-146651.

100. Emerging Theoretical Basis for Monitoring the Changing States (Health) of Large Marine Ecosystems -- Summary

Report of Two Workshops: 23 April 1992, National Marine Fisheries Service, Narragansett, Rhode Island, and 11- 12

July 1992, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. By Kenneth Sherman, ed. September 1993. iii + 27 p., 1 fig., 9 tables, 5 app.

NTIS Access. No. PB94-157476.

101. Status of Fishery Resources off the Northeastern United States for 1993. By Conservation and Utilization Division,

Northeast Fisheries Science Center. October 1993. iv + 140 p., 62 figs., 70 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB94-142361.

102. Indexed Bibliography of Northeast Fisheries Science Center Publications and Reports for 1990-91. By Jon A. Gibson.

May 1994. iii + 40 p. NTIS Access. No. PB95-200838.

103. Marine Mammal Studies Supported by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center during 1980-89. By Gordon T. Waring,

Janeen M. Quintal, and Tim D. Smith. May 1994. iv + 27 p., 5 tables, 4 app. NTIS Access. No. PB95-108213.

104. Quantitative Effects of Pollution on Marine and Anadromous Fish Populations. By Carl J. Sindermann. June 1994. iii + 22

p., 12 figs. NTIS Access. No. PB95-138467.

105. Review of American Lobster (Homarus americanus) Habitat Requirements and Responses to Contaminant Exposures. By

Renee Mercaldo-Allen and Catherine A. Kuropat. July 1994. v + 52 p., 29 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB96-115555.

106. Selected Living Resources, Habitat Conditions, and Human Perturbations of the Gulf of Maine: Environmental and

Ecological Considerations for Fishery Management. By Richard W. Langton, John B. Pearce, and Jon A. Gibson, eds. August

1994. iv + 70 p., 2 figs., 6 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB95-270906.

107. Invertebrate Neoplasia: Initiation and Promotion Mechanisms -- Proceedings of an International Workshop, 23 June

1992, Washington, D.C. By A. Rosenfield, F.G. Kern, and B.J. Keller, comps. & eds. September 1994. v + 31 p., 8 figs., 3 tables.

NTIS Access. No. PB96-164801.

108. Status of Fishery Resources off the Northeastern United States for 1994. By Conservation and Utilization Division,

Northeast Fisheries Science Center. January 1995. iv + 140 p., 71 figs., 75 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB95-263414.

109. Proceedings of the Symposium on the Potential for Development of Aquaculture in Massachusetts: 15-17 February 1995,

Chatham/Edgartown/Dartmouth, Massachusetts. By Carlos A. Castro and Scott J. Soares, comps. & eds. January 1996. v +

26 p., 1 fig., 2 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB97-103782.

110. Length-Length and Length-Weight Relationships for 13 Shark Species from the Western North Atlantic. By Nancy E.

Kohler, John G. Casey, Patricia A. Turner. May 1996. iv + 22 p., 15 tables, 4 figs. NTIS Access. No. PB97-135032.
Page iii

Contents

Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................................... v

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 1

Data Sources and Descriptions ...................................................................................................................................... 1

Data Organization, Categorization, and Summary Statistics ........................................................................................ 2

Comparison of Sample and Population Statistics.......................................................................................................... 5

Discussion ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5

References Cited ............................................................................................................................................................ 5

Tables

Table 1. Definitions of NEFSC master vessel and weighout file variables ................................................................ 6

Table 2. Definitions of Capital Construction Fund variables ..................................................................................... 7

Table 3. Numbers and percentages of observations of unique vessels and vessel years by tonnage class ................ 9

Table 4. Numbers and percentages of observations of unique vessels and vessel years by gear type ....................... 9

Table 5. Numbers and percentages of observations of unique vessels and vessel years by DAB class .................... 9

Table 6. Means, standard deviations, and minimum and maximum values of all variables .................................... 10

Table 7. Means and standard deviations of key variables for otter trawlers and scallop dredgers .......................... 11

Table 8. Means and standard deviations of key variables by DAB class ................................................................. 12

Table 9. Means and standard deviations of key variables by tonnage class............................................................. 12

Table 10. Two-standard-deviation test for number of outlying and nonoutlying observations of trip costs,

other variable operating expenses, and indivisible operating expenses, by tonnage class......................... 13

Table 11. Two-standard-deviation test for percentages and numbers of nonoutlying observations of

individual cost shares, by tonnage class ..................................................................................................... 13

Table 12. Means and standard deviations of cost-earnings data and weighout data for all Northeast U.S. vessels .. 14

Table 13. Means and standard deviations of cost-earnings data and weighout data for otter trawl vessels .............. 14

Table 14. Means and standard deviations of cost-earnings data and weighout data for scallop dredge vessels........ 15

Figures

Figure 1. Changes in real costs of key variables during 1984-92............................................................................. 16

Figure 2. Number of fishing trips and days fished by all vessels during 1984-92 ................................................... 16

Figure 3. Average real total costs and gross revenue for all vessels during 1984-92 .............................................. 17

Figure 4. Costs of key variables as a percent of gross revenue for all vessels during 1984-92 ............................... 17

Figure 5. Costs of key variables as a percent of gross revenue for scallop dredgers and otter trawlers

during 1984-92 .......................................................................................................................................... 18

Figure 6. Costs of key variables as a percent of gross revenue by tonnage class..................................................... 18

Figure 7. Costs of key variables as a percent of gross revenue by days absent ....................................................... 19

Figure 8. Average real landings values and gross revenue of all vessels during 1984-92 ....................................... 19

Figure 9. Average real landings values and gross revenue of tonnage class 3 and 4 vessels during 1984-92 ......... 20

Figure 10. Average real landings values and gross revenue of scallop dredgers and otter trawlers during

1984-92 ...................................................................................................................................................... 20

Figure 11. Average real landings values and gross revenue of DAB class 2 vessels during 1984-92 ....................... 21
Page iv

Acronyms

CCF = [NMFS] Capital Construction Fund

DAB = days absent [from port]

GRT = gross registered tonnage

IRA = individual retirement account

IRS = [U.S. Department of the Treasury] Internal Revenue Service

NEFSC = [NMFS] Northeast Fisheries Science Center

NMFS = [NOAA] National Marine Fisheries Service

TSD = two-standard-deviation [test for outlying data]

USCG = U.S. [Department of Transportation] Coast Guard
Page v

ABSTRACT

Data from the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Capital Construction Fund are summarized to provide a financial

profile of Northeast U.S. commercial fishing vessels. Averages for various cost categories are presented by tonnage

class, fishery, and effort level. Costs are also presented as percentages of total revenue. Data are then evaluated for how

well they represent the Northeast fishing fleet. Potential uses and pitfalls of using these data for economic analyses are

also discussed.
Page vi
Page 1

INTRODUCTION

While vessel-level landings data are available in most

Northeast U.S. commercial fisheries, data on operating costs

of fishing vessels typically are not. The main goal of this

project was to compile (from existing sources), organize, and

summarize a data base which contained vessel-level information on revenues, landings, and expenditures for vessels

operating in Northeast U.S. fisheries during 1983-92, and

which could be used for subsequent economic analyses.

This report describes the contents and potential uses of this

data base. (Note that while the data base covers 1983-92,

some of the figures in this report cover 1984-92 due to the

low number of observations in 1983.)

Financial data on the revenue and expenses of owners

(sole or corporate) of individual Northeast U.S. vessels were

obtained from the National Marine Fisheries Service’s

(NMFS) Capital Construction Fund (CCF) data base (described later). Individual vessel landings data were obtained

from the NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s (NEFSC)

weighout files. Data on individual vessel characteristics

were obtained from the NEFSC master vessel file (also described later).

The cost-earnings data base should be useful for determining economic performance measures of various fisheries. These measures can help to identify sources of inefficiencies in fisheries, changes in performance, and impacts

of fishery regulations. Such information will enhance fisheries management by providing policymakers with additional

knowledge upon which to base decisions.

The specific objectives of this project were to: 1) create

a panel data set which incorporates cost, landings, and vessel characteristics data in one file; 2) aggregate these data in

various ways, and calculate statistics which describe or identify relevant trends; 3) determine the within-sample reliability of the data; 4) ascertain the degree to which the group

described by the data collected are representative of the

Northeast U.S. fleet; 5) summarize and make available the

data in spreadsheet and ASCII form for NMFS staff who

want a general idea of cost-earnings of Northeast U.S. vessels; 6) document the data collection and synthesis process

to provide future researchers with guidelines regarding the

quantity and quality of information which can be collected

using these data sources; 7) illustrate the limitations of these

data; and 8) prepare this report as the “reference manual” for

understanding and using the data.

This report has four subsequent sections. The next, or

second, section (“Data Sources and Descriptions”) describes

the three data sources and their limitations. The third section (“Data Organization, Categorization, and Descriptive

Statistics”) generally describes the data base and provides

summary statistics in order to illustrate the quantity and

quality of data collected, and some trends in Northeast U.S.

fisheries. Included in this latter section are analyses of costs

as a percent of total revenues for various levels of disaggregation, tests for outliers in the cost data, and correlations

between reported value of landings (from weighout data)

and reported gross revenues (from tax returns) in order to

evaluate the reliability of using tax records.

The representativeness of these data is an important

issue. To address this issue, weighout data on all reporting

Northeast U.S. vessels were obtained, and the average values of several variables were compared with the average

sample values from this data base. Results of this comparison are shown in the fourth section (“Comparison of Sample

and Population Statistics”). Finally, an assessment of the

data base is offered in the fifth section (“Discussion”). The

overall reliability of the data is discussed, and potential uses

as well as inherent pitfalls in these data are identified.

DATA SOURCES

AND DESCRIPTIONS

 Three data sources are employed in the cost-earnings

data base: CCF files, NEFSC weighout files, and NEFSC

master vessel file. A common element linking all three

sources is the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) registration number.

The variables collected from each file are defined in Tables 1

and 2. Descriptions of each file, including its potential limitations, are discussed separately below.

Capital Construction Fund Files

The CCF program, operated by NMFS’s Financial Services Division, was designed to allow commercial fishing

vessel owners to save pre-tax earnings to purchase, construct, or reconstruct fishing vessels. Under this program,

the tax on fishing vessel income is deferred, and untaxed

earnings are put into an account, much like an IRA (Individual Retirement Account), which is later used for vessel

projects. A requirement of the program is that participants

submit their annual federal income tax returns to the CCF

program. Tax returns are kept for every year the vessel is

active in the program.

The annual tax returns provided by CCF participants

yield a potentially rich source of data on vessel-specific

revenues and expenditures. Depending on the additional

financial schedules that owners submit with their basic tax

form, data elements available for collection may include some

or all of the following: 1) gross returns; 2) itemized expenditures on fishing-related costs such as bait, docking fees,

groceries, fuel & oil, gear & supplies, ice, insurance, lumping fees, packing fees, licenses, repairs, storage costs, water, crew shares or wages, and auction fees; and 3) other

itemized expenses such as rent, vessel depreciation, employee

benefits & pension payments, automobile expenses, bank

charges, dues & membership fees, office expenses, professional salaries, utilities, and travel & entertainment expenses.
Page 2

Several caveats should be noted with respect to these

data, and any researcher planning on using the data should

be aware of them:

1. The costs itemized may be based on an accountant’s

classification scheme rather than an actual breakdown

of costs.

2. Costs are often aggregated over vessels when more than

one vessel is owned by an individual or corporation; it

is usually not possible to allocate costs among vessels

in a corporate fleet.

3. Many vessels are active in more than one fishery

throughout the year, hence some costs cannot be allocated or divided among fisheries.

4. The “sensitive” nature of these data limits their usefulness. Because records are obtained from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax forms, the identity of the individuals participating must be protected. While NMFS

employees have access to these files, and can match

them appropriately with other data sets, researchers

outside the agency would not have unlimited access.

5. The data are not available in electronic form.

6. These costs may need to be augmented for economic

studies. For example, opportunity cost may be the most

relevant cost to the fishermen or vessel owner, but this

is not an accounting cost that can be itemized on a tax

return.

7. As will be discussed later, most vessels that participate

in the CCF program are considered “highliners” in the

fleet, i.e., vessels that, on average, earn the highest profits.

NEFSC Weighout Files

The NEFSC weighout files consist of voluntary, triplevel data recorded by port agents at the end of a vessel’s

fishing trip. The data elements collected include: days absent from port, days spent fishing, pounds of fish or invertebrates landed, value of landings, and port where the fish or

invertebrates were landed. The files are maintained electronically and are readily accessible.

One potentially serious problem is that the data do not

capture every trip a vessel takes, so that recorded annual

levels (of effort, landings, etc.) reflect only reported levels,

not necessarily actual levels.

NEFSC Master Vessel File

The master vessel file maintained by the NEFSC contains detailed data on such features of individual vessels as:

number of crew berths, types of gear used, construction

type, gross tonnage, length, year built, and horsepower. The

file is maintained electronically and is readily accessible.

Caveats to using these data include:

1. Some data in this file may not be current. That is,

individual vessels may upgrade or add engines (increased horsepower) or may make other structural

changes which are not reflected in the master vessel

file.

2. The crew size variable is based on the number of berths

on the vessel. Therefore, actual crew employed is not

always known nor are seasonal variations in crew size

always reflected.

DATA ORGANIZATION,

CATEGORIZATION, AND

SUMMARY STATISTICS

Data Organization

The data compiled for this study were derived from 130

individual vessels and for 375 vessel years; multiyear data

exist for some vessels. Some CCF tax returns contained data

on more than one vessel; in those cases, the costs and revenues could not be linked to a particular vessel. Although

these data remain in the data base, the data presented here

exclude the multivessel returns, leaving a total of 313 individual vessel-year records representing 90 unique vessels.

Due to varying tax reporting techniques, missing observations exist in many of the cost variables. In some instances, the cost was either not incurred or not reported.

Often, a cost was added to another. For example, reported

fuel expenses frequently included oil expenses and sometimes food and ice expenses. Gear expenses often subsumed

supply expenses. The reason for such categorization of

costs by accountants and fishermen is often for convenience

in calculating crew share. In this report, fuel, oil, food, water,

and ice are considered trip expenses. Insurance, interest,

taxes, maintenance, etc., are considered fixed costs , or at

least costs not assignable to a trip.

To address the missing data problem, some costs in this

report have been summarized by group. All variables collected or created from the master vessel and weighout files

are provided in Table 1. All variables collected or created

from the CCF files are provided in Table 2.
Page 3

Data Categorization

The data base reflects a fairly heterogenous fishing fleet.

This heterogeneity of vessels is particularly noticeable in

three categories: tonnage class, fishery or gear type, and

effort level. Before descriptive statistics on cost and earnings variables are presented, summary vessel information in

these three categories is described.

Tonnage Class

Three tonnage classes have been identified: class 2

refers to 5 to less than 50 gross registered tons (GRT), class

3 refers to 50 to less than 150 GRT, and class 4 refers to 150

and greater GRT. Of the 90 unique vessels in the data set,

the majority are class 4, followed closely by class 3; fewer

than 15% are in class 2.

Similarly, the majority of vessel years are in class 4, and

the smallest number in class 2. Table 3 presents the number

and percentages of unique vessels and vessel years by tonnage class.

Fishery or Gear Type

Ten fishery or gear types have been identified. Because vessels can and often do participate in more than one

fishery during a year, each vessel’s primary fishery was considered to be the fishery in which it earned the highest revenue during the year. Table 4 shows the numbers and percentages of unique vessels and vessel years by gear type.

The number of vessel years is higher than the number

of unique vessels for nine of the 10 gear types because

some vessels’ principal fishery changed from one year to

the next. Therefore, some double counting occurred.

Otter trawls and scallop dredges constitute the majority

of observations. Together, these two gear types represent

70% of the unique single-vessel observations and 76% of

the vessel-year observations. Longlines and surfclam/ocean

quahog dredges are the next most frequent gear types, collectively contributing 14% of the vessel-year observations.

The low number of observations in several other gear types

suggests that data for these gear are probably not suitable

for detailed analyses. Only otter trawls and scallop dredges

provide enough information for fishery-level analysis.

Effort Level

Another way to categorize observations is by a measure of effort such as the number of days that a vessel spends

at sea per year. Three classes were chosen to break up the

range of days absent (DAB): DAB class 1 if a vessel spent

fewer than 110 days at sea in a year, DAB class 2 if a vessel

spent between 110 and 219 days; and DAB class 3 if a vessel

spent 220 or more days. Table 5 shows the numbers and

percentages of unique vessels and vessel years by effort

level.

As Table 5 shows, the majority of observations consist

of vessels which spent 110-219 days at sea, or roughly oneto two-thirds of the year. The division of observations in

the other two effort levels is skewed towards DAB class 1.

Since the number of days at sea is determined through the

voluntary weighout collection system, there may be some

vessels (or vessel years) categorized in DAB class 2 which

were actually at sea more than 220 days, and some vessels in

DAB class 1 which were absent more than 110 days.

Summary Statistics

Table 6 contains the mean, standard deviation, and minimum and maximum values of all variables in the data set.

The means and standard deviations of several key variables

are presented in Tables 7-9, distinguishing among fishery,

effort level, and tonnage class, respectively. Those key variables are: 1) vessel characteristics (gross registered tons,

length, horsepower, year the vessel was built, and number

of crew members); 2) weighout data (annual quantity & value

of harvest, number of crew members, annual days absent &

days fished, and trips taken per year); and 3) CCF variables

(trip costs, other variable operating expenses, indivisible

operating expenses, gross revenue, insurance costs, crew

shares, interest payments, salaries, and employee benefits).

Average deflated costs for all vessels are shown in Figure 1. Averages for trip costs, indivisible operating expenses,

crew shares, salaries, and interest payments declined over

the 1984-92 study period, while other variable operating expenses and employee benefits remained fairly constant. The

average number of fishing trips taken and the average days

fished during the period both increased as depicted in Figure 2. Average real total costs and gross revenues decreased

as shown in Figure 3.

Reported costs are averages for those vessels that reported a particular cost. As can be seen from the number of

observations in Table 6, most cost variables have missing

values. In the case of fuel or crew share, it is expected that

all vessels incur these costs, thus these averages can safely

be applied to all vessels. However, certain costs such as

employee benefits are not incurred by all vessels. In this

case, missing values should be treated as zeros. So, for

certain costs, it may not be accurate to apply the reported

average to all vessels, but only to vessels that normally

incur that cost.

Costs as a Percentage of Total Revenues

The ratio of costs to revenues can provide insight on

the relative importance of particular categories of costs to

fishing operations. The following section evaluates costs
Page 4

average shares were calculated by tonnage class, under the

assumption that vessels in different tonnage classes have

significantly different expenses (see Figure 6). Table 10

shows the results for the three aggregate cost categories.

Some recorded expenditures were determined to be outlying

values. Table 11 shows the results of the tests of individual

cost items.

Gross Revenue Versus Landings Values

To evaluate the consistency of CCF data with weighout

data, we compared gross revenue from the tax return files

with the annual landings values from the weighout files.

These were the only comparable variables in the two files.

All values were deflated using the gross domestic product

implicit price deflator. Figure 8 illustrates the pattern of gross

revenue and landings values during 1984-92. A strong downward trend is evident in both variables over the period.

Average reported gross revenue was higher than average

landings values in all years. This is likely due in part to the

voluntary reporting of landings data.

Figure 9 shows the trends in average gross revenue

and landings values by tonnage-class-3 and -4 vessels.

(There were not enough observations on tonnage-class-2

vessels to include this category.) Again, average gross revenue was greater than average landings values in all years,

with the exception of 1992 for class-4 vessels. Revenue of

class-4 vessels has been declining since 1987, while revenue of class-3 vessels has been rising since 1988. As expected, class-4 vessel revenue was higher than that of class3 vessels. Paired comparison t-tests indicate that gross revenue for class-3 vessels was not significantly different from

landings values (P > 0.05). For class-4 vessels, gross revenue did not significantly differ from landings values in 5 of

the 9 yr.

Given that most observations were from otter trawlers

and scallop dredgers, the landings values and gross revenue of these vessels over time were examined. Figure 10

shows the mean real landings values and gross revenue for

these two gear types. Paired t-tests reveal that gross revenue and landings values differed significantly in only 2 of 8

yr (1990 and 1991) for trawlers, and in none of the 9 yr (P >

0.05) for dredgers.

Finally, the means of gross revenue and landings values were calculated by effort levels, as defined by days

absent. For DAB-class-1 vessels, means could only be calculated for 1986-92; of these 7 yr, values were significantly

different (P < 0.05) in 5 yr. For DAB-class-2 vessels, values

were significantly different only in 1988. For DAB-class-3

vessels, values were different only in 1991. Trends in mean

real landings values and gross revenue are shown in Figure

11 for DAB-class-2 vessels. (There are too few observations to present trends for DAB-class -1 and-3 vessels.)

Overall, gross revenue reported on annual tax returns

reflects the same trends found in landings values obtained

from the weighout data base. The two series are not signifias a percentage of revenue for various data categorizations.

To more accurately describe the cost characteristics of

groups of vessels, missing values in the data are treated as

zero.

Figure 4 shows the trend in costs as a percentage of

gross revenue for all vessels over the 1984-92 study period.

Other variable operating expenses show a slightly upward

trend, interest payments show a slightly downward trend,

while trip costs, indivisible operating expenses, crew shares,

and salaries do not exhibit clear trends.

Costs as a percentage of gross revenue, averaged over

the 1984-92 study period, for the major gear types--scallop

dredges and otter trawls--are shown in Figure 5. Trip costs

for otter trawlers and scallop dredgers were 18% and 17% of

gross revenue, respectively. Other variable operating expenses for otter trawlers and scallop dredgers were 8% and

7% of gross revenue, respectively, while indivisible operating expenses were 17% and 16%, respectively. Crew shares,

salaries, and interest payments were calculated as a percentage of gross revenue also. For otter trawlers, crew shares

were 37% of gross revenue, salaries were 3%, and interest

payments were 6%. For scallop dredgers, crew shares were

by far the largest expense at 40%, salaries were 2%, and

interest payments were 4%.

Breakdown of costs as a percentage of gross revenue

by tonnage class and effort level is shown in Figures 6 and

7, respectively. Trip costs, indivisible operating expenses,

interest payments, crew shares, and salaries were greater for

larger vessels, while other variable operating expenses decreased with vessel size. Crew shares increased with effort.

Trip costs were greater for more active vessels. Other variable operating expenses decreased from DAB class 1 to 2,

but increased slightly from class 2 to 3. Other costs remained rather constant relative to effort level.

Individual Cost Shares Relative to Average Cost

Shares

To examine the data for outliers, the share of each individual

cost item as a percentage of total cost was calculated for

every observation. Actual shares were then compared with

the average share of the same cost item over all observations. Following Herrick et al. (1992), a two-standard-deviation rule was used to evaluate each observation. The formula used was:

where Cij refers to cost item i of vessel j, and TCj

 refers to the

total costs of vessel j. If the absolute value of Sij was greater

than two standard deviations from the average share for

that cost item, the expenditure on i for vessel j was considered an outlier.

The analysis was also performed for the aggregate variables of trip costs, other variable operating expenses, and

indivisible operating expenses for each observation. All
Page 5

cantly different after controlling for variation due to fishery,

vessel size, or effort level.

Although average gross revenue and average landings

values were not significantly different, for some observations the values were quite different. Depending on the kind

of analysis, these particular observations may need to be

excluded.

COMPARISON OF SAMPLE

AND POPULATION STATISTICS

Table 12 compares average revenues, landings, days

absent, days fished, number of trips, and vessel characteristics of all Northeast vessels, as reported in the NEFSC

weighout files, with those in the cost-earnings data base for

1983-92. The landings value variable is deflated to remove

inflation distortions. A given vessel in a given year is treated

as a unique observation regardless of whether it appears in

other years. Tables 13 and 14 compare averages otter trawlers and scallop dredgers, respectively.

Tables 13 and 14 indicate that vessels sampled from the

CCF program are, on average, newer, bigger, more powerful

vessels which are at sea more days per year than the average vessel in the weighout data base. Therefore, one would

expect the average CCF vessel to have higher landings and

greater revenues. However, a comparison of profits cannot

be made because cost data are not available for the weighout

vessels. A reasonable assumption could be made that the

average CCF vessel earns a higher profit than the average

weighout vessel since the nature of the CCF program is to

put aside earnings for new projects. Presumably, the vessels most likely to participate in the program are those consistently returning profits.

DISCUSSION

Potential Uses

Information on fishing vessel costs is normally difficult

to obtain. Periodically, surveys are undertaken by a university or a consulting firm, but these usually provide only

snapshots of the total financial situation. The NMFS Northeast Region does not routinely collect vessel financial information. While data on revenue or landings values are typically available, revenue data alone do not adequately capture the viability of fishing operations; that is, information

on costs is necessary for evaluating the overall profitability

of operations. One important feature of the CCF tax returns

is that vessels can be tracked over several years. This is

useful for assessing how certain costs, and hence profitability, change over time. These, in turn, could be used in part to

assess the economic health of particular fisheries.

A significant use of this information has been and can

be to evaluate the potential benefits and costs of various

fishery management measures. For example, the analysis of

Amendment #5 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan used CCF tax returns to calculate the impact of

various regulatory schemes by evaluating expected changes

in benefits and costs from each of the schemes. Determining expenditures and profits by tonnage class, gear type,

and effort level (e.g., days absent) can help identify sources

of inefficiency in a fishery, and may also be used to test for

economies of scale. This information is useful to managers

in making resource allocation decisions.

Finally, general relationships between vessel characteristics, effort levels, and expenditures on various cost items

can be evaluated with these data. This information is often

used in bioeconomic models.

Potential Pitfalls

 Before drawing conclusions from these data, one must

fully understand their limitations. Most caveats have been

addressed in the course of the report, but it is worth reiterating that these data are based on tax returns. Costs are reported to the IRS in such a way as to minimize tax liability.

For example, there are a host of techniques used to calculate

depreciation expenses and these can vary significantly from

one return to the next.

A significant shortcoming of the data set is that it does

not fully represent the population of Northeast fishing vessels. Compared to all vessels in the NEFSC weighout system (which also does not represent the population, but is a

closer approximation), the vessels participating in the CCF

program can be considered the fleet “highliners.” Hence,

analyses based on these data may show that the average

vessel is better able to withstand financial difficulties than

may actually be the case.

Finally, the data base is of limited value for gear types

other than scallop dredges and otter trawls. As long as one

is interested in these fisheries, the data provide a reasonably good description of ongoing trends.

REFERENCES CITED

Herrick, S.; Lee, J.G.; Squires, D. 1992. Documentation for

the West Coast fishing fleet cost-earnings data base.

Southwest Fish. Sci. Cent. Admin. Rep. LJ-92-23. Available from: National Marine Fisheries Service, P.O. Box

271, La Jolla, CA 92038-0271.
Page 6

Table 1. Definitions of NEFSC master vessel and weighout file variables

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Variable Name Definition

____________________________________________________________________________________________

GRT Gross registered tons

LEN Length

HSPR Horsepower

YRBLT Year built

CONS Vessel construction: 0 = unknown, 1 = wood, 2 = steel, 3 = composite, 4 = iron, 5 =

alloy, 6 = concrete, 7 = aluminum, 8 = fiberglass, and 9 = plastic

CREW Number of crew including captain as measured by number of berths

DABS Total number of days absent from port

LNDLB Landed pounds

LNDVAL Value of landings as reported in the weighout files

NTRIPS Number of trips

DF Number of days gear is fished as measured by number of hours gear is fished

divided by 24

GEARCD Gear code as determined by gear that brought in most revenue for year: 1 = longline,

2 = otter trawl, 3 = bottom pair trawl, 5 = sink gillnet, 6 = drift gillnet, 7 = purse seine, 8

= scallop dredge, 9 = midwater pair trawl, 10 = fish pots, 11 = lobster pots, 14 =

midwater trawl, 16 = surfclam and ocean quahog dredge, 17 = Other

PORTLND Port code for port where majority of pounds were landed for the year: 220101 =

Portland, ME; 220201 = Typographical error in weighout data base; 20207 =

Rockland, ME; 220907 = Other Knox County, ME; 222307 = Vinalhaven, ME; 230131 =

Ocean City, MD; 240115 = Boston, MA; 240207 = Gloucester, MA; 240301 =

Chatham, MA; 240403 = New Bedford, MA; 240407 = Typographical error in

weighout data base; 240901 = Hyannis, MA; 240903 = Fall River, MA; 241901 =

Woods Hole, MA; 241903 = Westport, MA; 320101 = New Hampshire other than

Portsmouth; 320201 = Portsmouth, NH; 330127 = Point Pleasant, NJ; 330201 =

Atlantic City, NJ; 330309 = Cape May, NJ; 330409 = Wildwood, NJ; 331627 = Long

Beach, NJ; 350635 = Montauk, NY; 420105 = Newport, RI; 420209 = Point Judith, RI;

420905 = Newport County other than (City of) Newport, RI; 420909 = Washington

County other than Point Judith, RI; 420999 = Other Rhode Island; and 490345 = Cape

Charles, VA

TONCLASS Ton class: 2 if 5GRT50, 3 if 50GRT150, and 4 if 150GRT

TRPCLASS Trip class: 1 if 1NTRIPS80, and 2 if 80NTRIPS

DABCLAS Days absent class: 1 if 1DABS110, 2 if 110DABS220, and 3 if 220DABS

____________________________________________________________________________________________
Page 7

Table 2. Definitions of Capital Construction Fund variables

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Variable Name Definition

____________________________________________________________________________________________

CORP Corporation: 0 = not incorporated, and 1 = incorporated

FLEET Whether vessel belongs to a fleet (doesn’t necessarily mean vessel’s tax information

is reported with other vessels): 0 = no, and 1 = yes

GROSS Gross stock as reported on tax return (theoretically same as LNDVAL)

BAIT Bait cost

DOCK Docking fee

FOOD Food cost

FRT Freight cost

FUEL Fuel cost

GEAR Gear purchase cost

ICE Ice cost

INS Insurance cost

LUMP Payments to lumpers (those who unload fish)

MISCEXP Miscellaneous vessel expenses

MISDOCK Miscellaneous dock help

OIL Oil and lubrication

PACK Packaging fees

LIC License and permits

RENT Rent, lease, and moorage

REPAIR Repair costs

STORE Storage fees

VDEPR Vessel depreciation

WATER Water expense

AUTO Auto expense

BANK Bank charges

CCFDEPO Deposit to CCF account

CCSHR Crew share (payment to crew and captain)

DEPR Total depreciation expense

DUES Membership dues and subscriptions
Page 8

Table 2. (Cont.)

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Variable Name Definition

____________________________________________________________________________________________

INT Interest expense

OFFICE Office expenses

SALARY Payments to officers

UTILS Phone/utilities

PROFEES Professional fees (legal and accounting)

SUPPLY Supplies

TAX Taxes (not income)

TRAVEL Travel costs

AUCT Auction fee

EMPBEN Employee benefits

PENSION Pension and welfare

PATREF Patronage refund (a revenue)

BAGS Scallop bags

SPOT Fish spotting

ADVERT Business promotion

ENT Entertainment expense

BUSINC Other business income

MEDREIM Medical reimbursement

OTHDED 1120S other deductions

YEAR Year in which fiscal year ends

FISC Month, day, and year fiscal year ends

CTRIP Trip costs = FUEL + OIL + ICE + WATER + FOOD + BAGS + BAIT

OVOE Other variable operating expenses = GEAR + SUPPLY + FRT + LUMP + AUCT +

PACK + ADVERT + SPOT

IOE Indivisible operating expenses = INS + LIC + REPAIR + OFFICE + PROFEES +

TRAVEL + DUES + TAX + UTILS

____________________________________________________________________________________________
Page 9

Table 3. Numbers (and percentages) of observations of unique vessels and vessel years by tonnage class

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Tonnage Class Unique Vessels Vessel Years

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

 2 12 (13.3%) 20 (6.4%)

 3 37 (41.1%) 127 (40.6%)

 4 41 (45.6%) 166 (53.0%)

Total observations 90 313

Missing observations 0

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Table 4. Numbers (and percentages) of observations of unique vessels and vessel years by gear type

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Gear Type Unique Vessels Vessel Years _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Otter trawl 41 (41.0%) 120 (39.1%)

Scallop dredge 29 (29.0%) 112 (36.5%)

Longline 8 (8.0%) 24 (7.8%)

Surfclam & ocean quahog dredge 8 (8.0%) 19 (6.2%)

Fish & lobster pots 4 (4.0%) 12 (3.9%)

Sink gill net 5 (5.0%) 9 (2.9%)

Drift gill net 1 (1.0%) 1 (0.3%)

Purse seine 3 (3.0%) 6 (2.0%)

Bottom pair trawl 1 (1.0%) 1 (0.3%)

Midwater pair trawl 1 (1.0%) 3 (1.0%)

Total observations 101 307

Missing observations 3 6

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Table 5. Numbers (and percentages) of observations of unique vessels and vessel years by DAB class

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

DAB Class Unique Vessels Vessel Years

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

 1 40 (30.5%) 74 (24.1%)

 2 64 (48.9%) 185 (60.3%)

 3 27 (20.6%) 48 (15.6%)

Total observations 131 307

Missing observations 3 6

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Page 10

Table 6. Means, standard deviations, and minimum and maximum values of all variables (1987 dollars)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

 No. of Standard

Variable Observations Mean Deviation Minimum Maximum _____________________________________________________________________________________________

GRT 313 142.25 48.52 7 269

LEN 312 79.32 16.10 33 125

HSPR 295 654.55 252.72 100 1,500

YRBLT 305 1978.27 6.20 1943 1988

CREW 225 7.35 3.35 2 13

DABS 307 155.70 66.46 1 329

LNDLB 307 494,081.02 656,121.65 720 6,029,981

LNDVAL 307 522,199.19 320,792.18 361.23 2,144,239.63

CORP 313 0.83 0.37 0 1

GROSS 313 576,339.68 312,571.79 6,412.56 2,078,556.03

BAIT 37 34,773.30 30,777.32 74.70 84,237.69

DOCK 145 2,627.27 3,264.87 26.43 17,025.99

FOOD 216 19,728.74 16,080.02 226 138,823.96

FRT 48 6,672.80 12,008.49 75.82 68,689.30

FUEL 293 77,014.28 44,144.32 1,268 206,014

GEAR 217 40,115.38 30,837.11 449.92 211,939.62

ICE 201 10,777.02 6,355.53 43.31 42420

INS 305 39,764.87 21,552.65 21.22 116,803.92

LUMP 92 8,926.39 13,876.72 40.55 85,990.66

MISCEXP 96 4,313.22 11,929.81 8.66 110,167.40

MISDOCK 87 1,496.46 1,697.95 18.43 7,962.46

OIL 35 1,943.90 1,317.95 116.13 5,381

PACK 18 5,910.69 6,431.64 27.65 19,634.10

LIC 222 912.87 1,298.90 15.89 7,592.63

RENT 90 5,582.85 12,050.08 82.77 92,165.90

REPAIR 300 39,076.35 28,510.83 272.49 141,074.11

STORE 15 2,461.76 2,605.09 45 8,000.92

VDEPR 65 52,281.42 42,779.51 488.11 174,787.41

WATER 78 680.35 273.12 52.93 1,509.14

AUTO 205 2,926.01 3,089.53 26.48 24,033.02

BANK 110 310.28 823 1.03 6,521.16

CCFDEPO 113 42,645.24 49,493.15 0 369,432.94

CCSHR 303 229,080.06 163,687.79 736.28 1,233,529.95

DEPR 241 44,148.43 44,455.61 37.88 331,264.68

DUES 119 1,060.22 2,538.49 28.87 19,569.16

INT 272 29,820.88 24,963.87 146.85 184,764.98

OFFICE 223 1,313.96 1,850.32 11.98 11,717.05

SALARY 120 35,552.15 30,880.82 330.88 195,991

UTILS 229 2,104.23 2,076.56 6 12,785.23

PROFEES 300 4,186.04 4,223.98 107 43,322.58

SUPPLY 190 20,489.86 28,194.99 37 181,015.86

TAX 259 5,399.76 6,585.45 14.43 49,286.08

TRAVEL 106 2,100.25 2,749.32 11.98 17,035.61

AUCT 73 3,743.23 7,552.90 33.69 50,894.74

EMPBEN 61 603.31 5,942.57 55.82 22,329.52

PENSION 55 7,860.24 11,742.09 18.28 42,792

PATREF 27 4,395.41 1,871.66 17.83 6,993.55

BAGS 5 2,574.30 816.17 1,145.51 3,152.07

SPOT 8 22,717.45 18,978.84 9,327.19 61,095.15

ADVERT 8 917.29 971 211.45 3,179.12

ENT 2 915.96 334.95 679.12 1,152.80

BUSINC 275 9,653.17 43,100.66 0 166,325.31

MEDREIM 2 3,878.75 16.36 3,867.18 3,890.32

OTHDED 11 354,993.70 112,125.37 233,662 551,215.59

NTRIPS 307 31.99 25.16 1 156

DF 307 100.11 74.60 0 324
Page 11

Table 6. (Cont.)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

 No. of Standard

Variable Observations Mean Deviation Minimum Maximum _____________________________________________________________________________________________

YEAR 313 1988.68 1.94 1983 1992

FUEL 293 72,081.31 41,469.58 1,076.40 174,884.55

TONCLASS 313 3.47 0.61 2 4

TRPCLASS 307 1.06 0.23 1 2

DABCLASS 307 1.92 0.63 1 3

CTRIP 298 102,058.26 54,609.16 1,543.78 255,859.36

OVOE 300 47,694.53 40,749.66 449.92 354,589.13

IOE 313 88,919.72 47,575.62 263.16 227,202.04

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Table 7. Means (and standard deviations) of key variables for otter trawlers and scallop dredgers (1987 dollars)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Variable Otter Trawlers Scallop Dredgers _____________________________________________________________________________________________

GRT 137.4 (40.8) 166.2 (30.1)

LEN 78.7 (16.0) 86.9 (9.3)

HSPR 627.1 (272.4) 756.0 (193.7)

YRBLT 1979 (5.0) 1979 (4.6)

CREW 6.3 (3.0) 10.1 (2.4)

DABS 157.8 (59.5) 191.1 (48.5)

DF 84.8 (49.9) 134.0 (65.6)

LNDLB 823050 (899356) 222293a (90719)

LNDVAL 467379 (358610) 684111 (246593)

NTRIPS 39.9 (25.2) 19.5 (4.2)

CTRIP 92667 (43231) 128666 (44619)

OVOE 45759 (44962) 49980 (33544)

IOE 81932 (44347) 111792 (45904)

GROSS 537362 (310241) 718797 (276159)

INS 35626 (18380) 55047 (18840)

CCSHR 203332 (129140) 302624 (135699)

INT 29840 (27782) 32711 (23362)

SALARY 31271 (35548) 38522 (21819)

EMPBEN 2526 (1757) 11134 (7073)

_______________

a

Meat weight.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Page 12

Table 8. Means (and standard deviations) of key variables by DAB class (1987 dollars)

____________________________________________________________________________________________

 DAB Class

Variable 1 2 3

____________________________________________________________________________________________

GRT 128 (65.3) 146 (40.3) 162 (29.4)

LEN 72.2 (18.9) 80.7 (13.6) 88.2 (13.7)

HSPR 573 (253.9) 659 (239.8) 785 (244.0)

YRBLT 1977 (8.5) 1978 (5.3) 1980 (4.5)

CREW 5.3 (2.8) 7.9 (3.4) 8.5 (2.4)

DABS 61.7 (32.6) 170.7 (31.9) 242.8 (23.9)

DF 31.4 (47.5) 108.5 (66.0) 173.6 (49.5)

LNDLB 347329 (331376) 553390 (790750) 491736 (369542)

LNDVAL 227164 (171301) 568894 (297117) 797076 (236683)

NTRIPS 32.1 (28.8) 33.9 (26.4) 24.3 (5.6)

CTRIP 58703 (41656) 105310 (46742) 135631 (47577)

OVOE 42308 (42733) 47168 (42831) 59650 (26977)

IOE 66189 (40599) 92913 (46539) 115754 (43905)

GROSS 432216 (283071) 594005 (308216) 768440 (260075)

INS 27399 (16337) 42586 (20836) 51369 (20703)

CCSHR 178304 (217951) 233697 (140378) 307882 (120073)

INT 25626 (24234) 30972 (25047) 32453 (25722)

SALARY 36572 (29859) 33803 (30615) 36768 (33293)

EMPBEN 2637 (1246) 5570 (5570) 6683 (7606)

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Table 9. Means (and standard deviations) of key variables by tonnage class (1987 dollars)

____________________________________________________________________________________________

 Tonnage Class

Variable 2 3 4

____________________________________________________________________________________________

GRT 28 (9.1) 111.7 (25.1) 179 (16.7)

LEN 51.6 (17.7) 69.8 (10.2) 90.0 (9.9)

HSPR 387 (219.0) 527 (216.3) 790 (199.0)

YRBLT 1978 (5.2) 1976 (5.9) 1980 (6.2)

CREW 4.6 (3.5) 6.0 (3.3) 8.4 (3.0)

DABS 75.1 (68.3) 151.6 (57.5) 167.5 (66.4)

DF 74.6 (105.4) 103.8 (77.1) 100.1 (68.6)

LNDLB 108008 (90421) 597909 (857857) 459012 (477350)

LNDVAL 143770 (161309) 447608 (317414) 618503 (290809)

NTRIPS 39.4 (36.6) 43.0 (29.5) 23.0 (14.7)

CTRIP 30782 (37154) 80484 (40458) 118485 (50757)

OVOE 22065 (20303) 44435 (41937) 53630 (40344)

IOE 22907 (20890) 76526 (38388) 106355 (46201)

GROSS 206142 (135160) 471878 (278107) 700861 (288041)

INS 12346 (19788) 32667 (18618) 48413 (19124)

CCSHR 66876 (61891) 174789 (121295) 288990 (172695)

INT 13733 (14742) 26982 (25915) 33680 (24096)

SALARY 12095 (9840) 29571 (32398) 41505 (29203)

EMPBEN — 2734 (1918) 11068 (7138)

____________________________________________________________________________________________
Page 13

Table 10. Two-standard-deviation (TSD) test for number of outlying and nonoutlying observations of trip costs, other

 variable operating expenses, and indivisible operating expenses, by tonnage class

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 Tonnage Class 2 Tonnage Class 3 Tonnage Class 4

Variable Within TSD Not Within TSD Within TSD Not Within TSD Within TSD Not Within TSD

__________________________________________________________________________________________

CTRIP 19 0 113 8 132 14

OVOE 19 0 118 3 142 4

IOE 19 0 117 4 138 8

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Table 11. Two-standard-deviation test for percentages (and numbers) of nonoutlying (within TSD) observations of

 individual cost shares, by tonnage class

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 Tonnage Class

Variable 2 3 4 __________________________________________________________________________________________

FUEL 94% (18) 94% (121) 94% (143)

OIL -- 100% (24) 100% (11)

ICE 100% (7) 96% (90) 97% (99)

WATER -- 92% (36) 98% (42)

FOOD 100% (5) 94% (105) 97% (100)

BAGS -- -- --

BAIT 100% (5) 100% (18) 100% (14)

GEAR 100% (12) 95% (99) 98% (100)

SUPPLIES 89% (18) 99% (87) 96% (78)

FREIGHT 100% (7) 100% (11) 93% (29)

LUMPERS -- 92% (52) 95% (37)

AUCTION -- 95% (41) 97% (30)

PACK -- 100% (3) 100% (14)

ADVERT -- 100% (3) 100% (3)

SPOT -- -- 100% (6)

INS 100% (18) 95% (118) 95% (146)

LIC 93% (15) 94% (88) 94% (107)

REPAIRS 95% (19) 97% (117) 96% (141)

OFFICE 92% (13) 98% (83) 94% (108)

PROFESS 94% (16) 97% (117) 96% (142)

TRAVEL 100% (5) 95% (44) 94% (47)

DUES 100% (7) 96% (54) 96% (53)

TAX 93% (15) 96% (97) 95% (126)

UTILS 100% (14) 94% (93) 98% (106)

__________________________________________________________________________________________
Page 14

Table 12. Means (and standard deviations) of cost-earnings data and weighout data for all Northeast U.S. vessels (1987

dollars)a

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Variable Cost-Earnings Data Weighout Data ___________________________________________________________________________________________

LNDLB 494081 (656122) 312774 (799518)

LNDVAL 522199 (320792) 208223 (254570)

DABS 155.7 (66.5) 94.7 (76.1)

DF 100.1 (74.6) 62.2 (82.9)

NTRIPS 32 (25.2) 38.4 (40.6)

GRT 142.2 (48.5) 81.4 (64.5)

LEN 79.3 (16.1) 73.7 (89.6)

HSPR 654.6 (252.7) 430.1 (405.7)

YRBLT 1978 (6.2) 1970 (15.3)

CREW 7.3 (3.4) 4.7 (3.3)

_______________

a

All means significantly different at the 1% level except for length (LEN).

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Table 13. Means (and standard deviations) of cost-earnings data and weighout data for otter trawl vessels (1987 dollars)a

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Variable Cost-Earnings Data Weighout Data ___________________________________________________________________________________________

LNDLB 823050 (899356) 307346 (528773)

LNDVAL 467379 (358610) 172544 (215856)

DABS 157.9 (59.5) 96 (71.3)

DF 84.8 (49.9) 47.9 (48.4)

NTRIPS 39.9 (25.2) 39.5 (39.6)

GRT 137.4 (40.8) 79.9 (59.8)

LEN 78.7 (16.0) 76.4 (102)

HSPR 627.1 (272.4) 409.7 (416.8)

YRBLT 1979 (5.0) 1969 (14.5)

CREW 6.3 (3.0) 4.4 (2.4)

_______________

a

All means significantly different at the 1% level except for length (LEN) and number of trips (NTRIPS).

___________________________________________________________________________________________
Page 15

Table 14. Means (and standard deviations) of cost-earnings data and weighout data for scallop dredge vessels (1987

dollars)a

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Variable Cost-Earnings Data Weighout Data ____________________________________________________________________________________________

LNDLB 222293 (90719) 158059 (203038)

LNDVAL 684111 (246593) 486983 (299678)

DABS 191.9 (48.5) 164.3 (79.1)

DF 134.0 (65.5) 120.2 (71.8)

NTRIPS 19.5 (4.2) 17.2 (10.8)

GRT 166.2 (30.1) 146.1 (48.8)

LEN 86.9 (9.3) 88.2 (73.7)

HSPR 756.0 (193.7) 680 (426.7)

YRBLT 1979 (4.6) 1974 (12.2)

CREW 10.1 (2.4) 8.6 (3.4)

_______________

a

All means significantly different at the 1% level except for length (LEN), days fished (DF), and number of trips (NTRIPS).

Latter two significantly different at the 5% level.

____________________________________________________________________________________________
Page 16

Figure 1. Changes in real costs of key variables during 1984-92

Figure 2. Number of fishing trips and days fished by all vessels during 1984-92
Page 17

Figure 4. Costs of key variables as a percent of gross revenue for all vessels during 1984-92

Figure 3. Average real total costs and gross revenue for all vessels during 1984-92
Page 18

Figure 5. Costs of key variables as a percent of gross revenue for scallop dredgers and otter trawlers during

1984-92

Figure 6. Costs of key variables as a percent of gross revenue by tonnage class
Page 19

Figure 7. Costs of key variables as a percent of gross revenue by days absent

Figure 8. Average real landings values and gross revenue of all vessels during 1984-92
Page 20

Figure 9. Average real landings values and gross revenue of tonnage class 3 and 4 vessels during 1984-92

Figure 10. Average real landings values and gross revenue of scallop dredgers and otter trawlers during

1984-92
Page 21

Figure 11. Average real landings values and gross revenue of DAB class 2 vessels (110-219 days absent per

year) during 1984-92
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acronyms. As much as possible, use traditional scientific

manuscript organization for sections: “Introduction,” “Study

Area,” “Methods & Materials,” “Results,” “Discussion” and/or

“Conclusions,” “Acknowledgments,” and “References Cited.”

Style: All NEFSC publication and report series are

obligated to conform to the style contained in the most recent

edition of the United States Government Printing Office Style

Manual. That style manual is silent on many aspects of

NORTHEAST FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER

Michael P. Sissenwine, Science & Research Director

Mary G. Laird, Program Support Staff Chief

Teri L. Frady, Research Communications Unit Chief

Jon A. Gibson, Technical Editor
Research Communications Unit

Northeast Fisheries Science Center

National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA

166 Water St.

Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026

To obtain a copy of a technical memorandum or a reference document, or to subscribe to an information

report, write: Research Communications Unit, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 166 Water St., Woods

Hole, MA 02543-1026. An annual list of NEFSC publications and reports is available upon request at the

above address. Any use of trade names in any NEFSC publication or report does not imply endorsement.

NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE--This irregular series includes: data reports of long-term or large area

studies; synthesis reports for major resources or habitats; annual reports of assessment or monitoring programs;

documentary reports of oceanographic conditions or phenomena; manuals describing field and lab techniques; literature

surveys of major resource or habitat topics; findings of task forces or working groups; and summary reports of scientific

or technical workshops. Issues receive thorough internal scientific review and technical and copy editing. Limited free

copies are available from authors or the NEFSC. Issues are also available from the National Technical Information Service,

5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, VA 22161.

THIRD CLASS MAIL

Information Reports--These reports are issued in several series, including: Research Highlights, News Release,

Fishermen's Report, and The Shark Tagger. Content is timely, special-purpose data and/or information. Level of scientific

review and technical and copy editing varies by series. All series available through free subscription except for The Shark

Tagger which is available only to participants in the NMFS Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.

Northeast Fisheries Science Center Reference Document--This irregular series includes: data reports on field and

lab observations or experiments; progress reports on continuing experiments, monitoring, and assessments; and

background papers for scientific or technical workshops. Issues receive minimal internal scientific review and no technical

or copy editing. No subscriptions. Free distribution of single copies.

Publications and Reports

of the

Northeast Fisheries Science Center

NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) seeks to "achieve a continued optimum utilization of living marine

resources for the benefit of the Nation." As the research arm of the NMFS's Northeast Region, the Northeast Fisheries

Science Center (NEFSC) supports the NMFS mission by "planning, developing, and managing multidisciplinary

programs of basic and applied research to: (1) better understand the living marine resources (including marine

mammals) of the Northwest Atlantic, and the environmental quality essential for their existence and continued

productivity; and (2) describe and provide to management, industry, and the public, options for the utilization and

conservation of living marine resources and maintenance of environmental quality which are consistent with national

and regional goals and needs, and with international commitments." To assist itself in providing data, information,

and advice to its constituents, the NEFSC issues publications and reports in three categories: