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Cooperative Statistics- Trip Ticket Program
Cooperative Statistics- Trip Ticket ProgramThe State-Federal Cooperative Fishery Statistics Program (CSP) is a joint project between the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the State of Georgia. NMFS has similar joint projects with the other Southeastern U.S. coastal states. Originally implemented in 1977, the program has evolved over the past 25 years while working towards the goal of eliminating duplication of effort and standardizing data collection. In 1995, the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) was conceived with 23 Atlantic federal, regional, and state fisheries management agencies agreeing to cooperatively collect, manage and disseminate fishery statistical information. With funding from NMFS, Georgia cooperates fully with both programs. To achieve the goals set by CSP and ACCSP, Georgia implemented the trip ticket program in April 1999. All sales of seafood products landed in Georgia must be recorded on a trip ticket at the time of the sale. Both the seafood dealer and the seafood harvester are responsible for insuring the ticket is completed in full. The data collected via trip tickets are:
The data collected by these trip tickets are used not only to manage Georgia's fisheries but also to demonstrate their cultural and economic importance to coastal Georgia. Recent events have shown how important accurate landings data are. They have been used to demonstrate the economic impact of reduced water flows through our estuaries, and most recently, to determine Georgia's share of the federal disaster relief to shrimpers. As our natural resources receive more pressure from development, water rights issues, and other segments of society, the need for these data will become even more critical. Data collected by this project are available here. |
