Survey Letter

Page 2 of 2

Survey of Fishery Processed Products

(Fishery Products Reports)

Dear Processor:

Every year, NOAA Fisheries conducts a survey of seafood processors operating in the United States. Your firm has been identified as participating in this industry. Please take a moment to fill out and return the enclosed form. If you do not process seafood products, please note that on the form and return it. Please note that the survey defines processing as any change to the original product form, sometimes called “value added”. Additional details are located on the second page.

This survey is the only comprehensive survey of the U.S. seafood processing industry and is the source of all regional and national statistics. Reports generated from these statistics include Fisheries of the United States and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's yearbook, Fishery Statistics-Commodities. Your information is an integral part in keeping these publications current and representative of your industry.

These data have many uses that benefit the seafood processing industry. They have been used to calculate assistance to businesses affected by natural disasters such as flooding and hurricanes. The data you provide are used for calculating annual United States seafood consumption and for determining the consumer expenditures related to commercial fisheries. NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. International Trade Commission use the data in multilateral trade negotiations and tariff studies. Industry trade organizations and members of the industrial and financial communities use the data to make business decisions affecting the fishing and seafood industries. Your participation in this survey makes these numbers more representative of industry trends.

NOAA Fisheries upholds a strict confidentiality policy. All information regarding quantity, value, and employment of individual firms is kept STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL. Only aggregated data is reported so that no individual person or business can be identified.

The instructions on the reverse side of this letter are provided to assist you in preparing the forms. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me, Melissa Yencho, at NOAA Fisheries, Fisheries Statistics Division F/ST1, SSMC-3, Room 12626, 1315 East-West Hwy, Silver Spring, MD 20910 or call (301) 427-8193.

Thank you for your time and assistance and have a good day.

Sincerely,

Melissa Yencho

Fisheries Statistics Division

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE FORM

1. Check your company name, mailing address, and phone/fax numbers. If your plant address differs from your mailing address please fill in the appropriate information and make any necessary corrections. If your plant address is blank, please fill in the address or simply indicate ‘Same’ if it matches your mailing address.

2. In the box to the right of your address is the employment section. Enter the number of people that worked at the establishment during the payroll period that included the 12th of the month. Do not forget to include yourself.

3. Please include the name and contact information of the person who prepared the report directly beneath the employment section. This lets us reach out to the person that completed the form in case we have questions. You can provide telephone number and/or e-mail. It is not necessary to sign the form.

4. In the upper right hand corner, indicate the type of business you operate. If your business is in the “other” category, please note what type of business you have somewhere on the form.

5. The next several sections relate to the products processed by your company. "Processing" means anything done to the product to increase its economic value or change the product from its original form. This would include, but is not limited to, freezing, filleting, steaking, surimi or analog production, shucking, cooking, removing the roe, or otherwise preparing the product. If the products already listed on the form are correct, please fill in the appropriate finished product volume and wholesale values (the form states FOB value). Plant value is the amount that the processor receives for the finished product. For products finished but not yet sold (still held in inventory), calculate the estimated value using the average price received to date for that product.

6. If you receive a form that only states “New Products”, please list all the products you currently process in addition to any new products you have introduced during the last year.

7. For processors of canned products, please be sure to include the ounces per can, cans per case, and number of cases. If the information is already included on the form, please check it for accuracy.

8. List any NEW products in the appropriate section with volume and values. Please indicate whether the product is fresh, frozen, canned, cured, or industrial. If a product listed on the pre-printed section of products no longer applies, just draw a line through it. Please record any re-introduced products in the New Products section as well.

9. We recommend that you make a copy of the completed survey for your files. A pre-addressed envelope is enclosed for your convenience in returning the form to this office.

10. If you have questions, please call Melissa Yencho or Alan Lowther in the NMFS Fisheries Statistics Division at: (301) 427-8193 or (301) 427-8154. We are more than happy to answer any questions or address your concerns.

A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with an information collection subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 unless the information collection has a currently valid OMB Control Number. The approved OMB Control Number for this information collection is 0648-0018. Without this approval, we could not conduct this survey. Public reporting for this information collection is estimated to be approximately 30 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the information collection. All responses to this information collection are voluntary. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this information collection, including suggestions for reducing this burden to the NOAA Fisheries Melissa Yencho at: 1315 East-West Highway, SSMC-3 F/ST-1, Silver Spring, MD 20910, Attn: Fishery Products Report/Melissa Yencho, [email protected]