Recreational fishing statistics transition to new survey method calculations

Recreational fishing data are collected through multiple programs specifically designed for fisheries or methods of fishing. The largest of these programs, the Marine Recreational Information Program, is a federal partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Fishing data are collected through multiple data collection programs that are specifically designed for particular fisheries or methods of fishing. The largest of these data collection programs, the Marine Recreational Information Program, is a federal partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Marine Recreational Information Program utilizes several component surveys to obtain timely and accurate estimates of marine recreational fisheries catch and effort and provide reliable data to support stock assessments and fisheries management decisions.

The North Carolina component of the Marine Recreational Information Program, conducted by Division of Marine Fisheries staff, is responsible for interviewing anglers at locations such as piers, boat ramps, beaches, and marinas. Collected data include angler demographics, fishing area, targeted species, numbers of fish harvested per trip, numbers of fish released per trip, as well as lengths and weights of harvested fish. These data are then combined with effort data (number of trips) collected by NOAA to produce estimates of marine recreational fisheries catch and effort.

Recently, NOAA altered the methodology used to collect effort data to provide a more accurate assessment of recreational saltwater fishing effort. Historically, effort data from saltwater anglers was collected using the Coastal Household Telephone Survey. This survey utilized random digit dialing of coastal households to calculate the average number of saltwater trips taken per household. Using U.S. census data, the average provided by the survey was then expanded to the state and county level.

The Coastal Household Telephone Survey was found to be a less reliable means of data collection than when it was first implemented due to only sampling individuals in coastal counties, a decrease in landline telephone numbers as cell phones became widely available, and an overall low percentage of the general public participating in saltwater fishing. To address these limitations, a mail survey called the Fishing Effort Survey was designed and implemented in 2015. The mail and telephone surveys were conducted simultaneously between 2015 and 2018 to allow a comparison between the two methods. The results of this comparison demonstrated that the mail survey provided a substantial improvement in collecting survey data relative to the telephone survey. Some specific improvements accomplished by the Fishing Effort Survey included selecting mail recipients based on both North Carolina’s Coastal Recreational Fishing License holders and U.S. Postal Service mailing address files, as well as expanding from the previously surveyed area of only coastal counties to surveying all counties within North Carolina. These changes resulted in an improvement in survey response from 9 percent with the Coastal Household Telephone Survey to 35 percent with Fishing Effort Survey. Beginning in 2018, the telephone survey was replaced with the mail survey as NOAA’s exclusive method to collect data on saltwater recreational fishing effort.

With the implementation of the Fishing Effort Survey, saltwater fishing effort is now estimated in a more effective manner, more specifically, in estimating the total number of angler trips. Estimating total catch (the number of fish caught) in North Carolina is calculated by multiplying the average number of fish caught per trip for a particular species (obtained from dockside angler interviews) by the total number of trips (obtained from Fishing Effort Survey).

With increased survey responses through the Fishing Effort Survey, the estimated total catch also increased relative to the previously utilized Coastal Household Telephone Survey method. To reflect this change, Marine Recreational Information Program data collected before the implementation of the Fishing Effort Survey was re-calculated to reflect the increased effort estimates. The result was a three-to-five-fold increase in estimated trips and catch (Figures 1 and 2). North Carolina has long recognized that the Marine Recreational Information Program had limitations providing reliable catch statistics for some species due to low sample sizes.

Therefore, beginning in 1987, The Division of Marine Fisheries increased the number of anglers interviewed from about 1,400 to approximately 8,000 interviews per year. Then, in 2005, the number of anglers interviewed was nearly doubled to 15,000 per year. The increase in sampling by division staff greatly improved the precision of catch estimates in North Carolina and significantly reduced the impact of the Fishing Effort Survey transition in North Carolina relative to other states. These changes were reflected in the most recent N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries License and Statistics Section Annual Report and include updated data on effort and catch for the past 20 years (1998–2017). For a more detailed description of the Fishing Effort Survey transition timeline and implementation process, please refer to NOAA’s website.

Additionally, the division interviews anglers in the Central Southern Management Area which includes more than 50 boating access points along the upper estuarine portions of the Tar-Pamlico, Pungo, Neuse, Trent, and Cape Fear rivers. Similar to the Marine Recreational Information Program, information gathered during angler interviews include target species, weights and measurements of catches, catch discard information, type of fishing method, fishing locations, trip details, and angler demographics; however, catch and effort estimates for the Central Southern Management Area survey were not affected by the Fishing Effort Survey transition.