Commercial Puchase System
Introduction
The principal method used by DFW to collect domestic commercial fisheries data is a commercial purchase or dealer invoicing system, sometimes referred to as a "trip ticket" system.
The collection system for the data is dependent upon first-level purchasers of local fresh fish to accurately record all fish purchases by species categories on specially designed invoices. Staff from the Department of Lands and Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) routinely distribute and collect invoice books from 70 participating local fish purchasers on Saipan. Purchasers include practically all fish markets, stores, restaurants, hotels and roadside vendors ("fish-mobiles").
The DFW provides books of numbered two-copy Commercial Sales Receipt Forms to 70 first-level purchasers of fresh fish products on Saipan, including hotels, restaurants, stores, fish markets, and roadside vendors or "fish-mobiles". Dealers accurately record all fish purchases by species categories on a Commercial Sales Receipt Form each time they purchase fish directly from fishermen. They keep one copy for their records and provide one copy to DFW.
In 1999 the Commercial Purchase system was expanded to Rota and Tinian as well.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Some advantages of this method of data collection are that it is relatively inexpensive to implement and maintain, nearly complete coverage of the commercial fisheries is fairly easy to accomplish, and DFW can provide feedback to dealers and fishermen to ensure data accuracy and continued cooperation.
Disadvantages include a dependence on non-DFW personnel to identify the catch and record the data, the types of data that can be collected are somewhat restricted, education and cooperation of all fish purchasers are required, and only the fish that are sold to dealers are recorded leaving a potentially important portion of the total landings unrecorded.
Evolution to Current System
Since 1982, DFW has tried to minimize these disadvantages as much as possible by maintaining a close working relationship with dealers, by educating and adding new dealers to their list as they enter the business.
The current system collects data from dealers on the island of Saipan, where DFW estimates over 90% of all CNMI commercial landings are made. The DFW further estimates that the proportion of total commercial landings that is recorded in the data base for Saipan since 1983 is over 90%.
With the assistance of the NMFS WPacFIN program, DFW has expanded its fisheries monitoring programs to include Rota and Tinian, the other two major inhabited islands in the CNMI.
Data Collected
The Commercial Sales Receipt Form collects the following information ;
Controlled Invoice Number, Seller's Name, Buyer's Name, Date received for each form and species caught, Number of pieces caught, Pounds caught, Price per pound and total value for each species.
Species identification is frequently made only to a group level, especially for reef fish.
