Anyone else participating in the Cornell fish consumption study?

I was contacted by Cornell University to participate in a fish consumption study. I noticed what I considered a major over site with the data entry page. I will share my correspondence with the university and pose the question "why?"
 
 
 
Hello 

 I am a participant in your current study of fish eating habits of fishermen. I noticed that yellow perch is not an option for fish caught in presque isle bay or lake erie.  This species accounts for 90% of my seafood intake for fish caught in these waters. I assume it accounts for a majority of consumed fish for many others as well. I would like to see yellow perch added to the choices of species. It will be a far more common selection than several other species that are on the lists.  If it doesn't get added, you'll have a very large number for "species not listed" at the end of the study.
 thank you for your time
Mike
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Dear Mike,
 Thank you for your suggestion.  You are right “Yellow Perch” is not listed under “Presque Isle Bay” and “Lake Erie” but it is already listed under  “Other Pennsylvania Waters”
 
 Thanks,
 
Yasir
 
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So I should continue to select "species not listed" for all yellow perch consumed that were harvested from Presque Isle bay and Lake Erie? Or should I incorrectly report that they were caught in other waters?
 
I was aware that it is listed for other Pennsylvania Waters, but the majority of perch caught in this area don't come from other waters. Yellow Perch is the number one most consumed fish from the main lake and the bay. Lake Erie Yellow perch is one of the most sought after fish in the seafood market, current prices topping $16 a pound. The fact that it is not a choice for these waters has me concerned. I myself was a biology major at one time, with a focus on limnology. With all the time, effort, and resources being put forth for this study, I couldn't help but point out what I would call a major over site that may render the study nearly useless. If I knew what the information collected was going to be used for, it would help me determine if this over site was intentional or not.  
 
The fact that multiple species of carp(rarely/if ever eaten by anyone) are listed as choices for fish consumed and perch is not, makes me question whether any fishermen were involved with the planning of this study at all. The other logical conclusion for this over site was that the study was set up so the data collected supported a predetermined conclusion. :(
 
I suppose admitting a mistake was made and making a correction could cause problems for the conductors of the study especially there is a grade attached to it. This could also be a factor in not wanting to correct the issue. 
 
At this point I am beginning to have reservations about my participation in this study. This will be my final attempt to have Yellow Perch added to the list the lake Erie and the bay. My further participation will be dependent on the response to this email.
 thank you
Mike 
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Yes, you should select "species not listed" for all yellow perch consumed that were harvested from Presque Isle bay and Lake Erie.  I’m sorry if our previous answer was confusing.  The study is concerned with fish consumption and where specific species of concern were caught and then consumed.  We are aware that yellow perch is not on the list for Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie, and that it is a very popular fish for anglers to catch and eat.  It was not an over site on our part.
 
We hope you continue to participate in the study.  Your responses are very important to us.
 
Thanks,
Yasir
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Perhaps specifics aren't important in biology any more. After all it was nearly 20 years ago when I was bio major. 

Perhaps pose the same question and provide copies of the correspondence to someone else at Cornell?  look on the Cornell web site for other faculty in the biology department and pose your question to them to see if there is any interest in explaining further.
At minimum the person answering your emails obviously has no interest in explaining why such a major consumption fish was specifically/deliberately left off of the list.
 If no explanations for the oversight are provided and you feel the results would be invalid then I would not participate... but that is personal choice.   It seems there are a lot of people who make a living doing nothing but surveys, I'm not sure if there is actually a scientific research goal in mind or if it is just another way to gain grants and such through universities and government agencies.  

After digging a little deeper, I found that the studies Cornell conducts are mainly based on the species with consumption advisories. The species not listed are the ones without consumption advisories. Yellow perch is safe to eat with no restrictions. 
 
Cornell could not provide me with this info, because if participants know what the study is for it may affect their answers. I was a bit overly suspicious I suppose, but it's better than providing information that could be used against my favorite fishery. 

You ate a sheep head?  
 
Yikes!! At least you'll glow in the dark for the 4th of July.