Cover Letter

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Southeast Fisheries Science Center
75 Virginia Beach Dr.
Miami, Florida 33149
Month DD, 2022

«PrimaryMailingRecipient»
«Street_Address»
«City», «State» «Zipcode»
Dear Permit Owner:
The NOAA Fisheries Service is working to improve its ability to determine the economic effects of
regulations and other factors that impact the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic shrimp fisheries.
Therefore, we conduct the Annual Economic Survey of Federal Gulf and South Atlantic Shrimp
Permit Holders. Each year we randomly select about a third of permitted vessels in order to collect
data about operating expenses and the costs of owning and maintaining shrimp vessels. In the
interest of fairness and data quality, and in accordance with federal regulations, all selected
individuals are required to complete and submit this survey.
You have been randomly selected to participate in this year’s survey. Enclosed is a form asking
about expenditures you made in 2019 for your vessel “«VesselName»” with the registration number
«VESID». You must complete and submit this survey in order to retain your permit eligibility.
Please complete the enclosed survey form and return it to us by April 30, 2022. A pre-addressed,
postage-paid envelope is enclosed. All information you supply is confidential and will be combined
with information from other fishermen to present an overall view of the economic status of the
fisheries and the problems they face. If you wish to receive the survey results once the data have
been analyzed, please make note of this anywhere on the survey.
By accurately completing this survey, you will ensure that management decisions are based on the
best possible information about the economic effects of regulations on fishermen. Please print all
requested information clearly. A form with incomplete or unclear information cannot be entered into
the database and will be returned for clarification. If you have any questions or require help filling
out the survey, please contact Felix Martin at (305) 361-4263.
Thank you very much for your cooperation with this data collection and good luck this shrimping
season.
Sincerely yours,

Christopher Liese
Resource Economist
«SurveyNum»