dary report to the NMIRS group, one of the key requirements for reliable data gathering is the isolation of the islanders from the "outside" influence of field trip ships and from scientists conducting environmental or medical studies. This stems from the fact that the Marshallese tend to give such inquires answers which they think are being sought, rather than to provide the ob- jective information desired. Thus the NMIRS program, wherein three of the authors spent short periods of time in residence at each island, served to provide a basis for comparisons with past observations, and to establish a foundation . for subsequent studies following the NMIRS. These studies have now been extended through 1979 and are expected to continue indefinitely. Methods A thorough review of all existing literature was performed (1-6). studies (1,2] had as their goals the Earlier quantitative and qualitative assessments of rood intake, and the establishment of its nutrient value. However, it became apparent during the current study that the earlier studies suffered from certain unintended biases which were the result of inquiries made during short field trip visits. We have ascertained that these biases can be minimized by utilizing an observer who has become integrated into the local community to the extent that his or her presence has a negligible impact on community life. The authors of this report have spent periods extending from months to years on the various islands in the Marshalls, during which time they have become an integral part of the island communities, partaking of the local food and participating in (as well as observing) community living patterns. On the basis of this experi- ence, the authors developed a questionnaire which was used the dietary information presented to generate much of in this report. The generalized information presented in the main body of this report represents a synthesis of the direct observations of the authors, and of the survey data from the questionnaire. Most of the detailed information, which forms the basis for these generalizations, pertains to the following: Islands/Atolls studled, specific aspects of island living patterns, seasonal phenomena, types of fish and methods of fishing, edible birds, individual family food consumption patterns, (imported) food subsidy programs, community cooperative store stocks, and satistics on the edible fractions of local foods. All of the above informa- tion’ is included in the Appendices. The following dietary interview was prepared in an attempt to determine the local diet by posing questions to the islanders themselves. It was taken to a number of communities at Rongelap in Rongelap Atoll, Utirik in Utirik Atoll, Me jit, Ailuk, Wotho, Jabor in Jaliut Atoll, at Killi Island and Majuro. The questionnaire of the dietary interviews, which is in Marshallese but presented here as a literal English translation, was as follows: