1. Both the telephone and access point data collection methods have serious flaws that must be attended to.  The telephone surveys do not include cell phones nor take into account their geographic range (non-coastal residences).  Considering the increasing use of cell phones over land lines, this seriously reduces the range of the survey to active anglers and can lead to major underestimation.  An internet survey component should be considered and researched as a way to get more comprehensive data.  The access point interviews do not include private property access points.  Again, this leads to major underestimation.  Also, difficulty of access to some public areas may lead to a bias against conducting surveys in those areas.
   
   
2. The state assessment surveys that serve as components of the MFRSS suffer from statistical flaws and limitations and require similar adjustments as above.  The state survey components also use a variety of methodologies and statistical estimations that are             inconsistent with the MRFSS.  There needs to be a standardization of methods and statistical estimation for all surveys contributing to the MRFSS.  Cooperation between all levels of participation, local to national, needs to be improved.  This would help the consistency of data collection, analysis and survey implementation.
   
   
3. The MRFSS methods and statistical estimations do not take into account overlapping use of areas by anglers nor relationships between species in a marine area.  Such specific data would help the MRFSS results guide regulation in specialized areas.
   
   
4. Current data on all saltwater anglers is inconsistent and incomplete.  A national sampling frame, or registry, of anglers needs to be established.  This would most easily be accomplished by standardizing the fishing license applications in all states and creating a national database with contact information, plus other factors, for all active anglers.  This registry could then be used as the base for a reconstructed telephone survey including all phone types and incorporating all areas of residency.
   
   
5. Marine recreational fishing contributes greatly to fishing mortality and scientific data on its impact is necessary to successfully manage the affected marine populations.  Catch and release is gaining on us and its impact on mortality rates has been insufficiently studied.  Data from this practice needs to be accurately incorporated into the survey.
   
   
6. Recreational fishing has changed dramatically since the MRFSS was established.  Proportions of commercial to recreational fishing activity in various regions has shifted, grown or shrunk, and information on recreational fishing is much more important to stock assessment models than previously considered.  A comprehensive list of recreational marine access sites needs to be compiled and continuously updated.  Accuracy of reports of fish identification and quantity needs to be improved.  Biases against less accessible or smaller access sites needs to be reduced.
   
   
7. The survey currently does not take into account human dynamics acting upon the information collected.  Fishing site variation due to population change, economics, development, natural disasters, etc. has not been incorporated into the existing statistical estimations.  These factors need to be included in the overall assessment of access sites and frequency of use.
   
   
8. There is inadequate communication and outreach to the fishing communities done by the NMFS regarding the MRFSS.  Anglers will participate and contribute more readily to a national survey if the impact of their information is better understood and they can see how the data is used to create estimations that affect them such as fish stock sizes and catch quotas.  Confidence in the results would also be gained if the limitations are presented and it is explained how participation can help reduce the inconsistencies.  Cooperation with angler and community groups should be incorporated into data  collecting and surveying as has been done with the commercial fisheries.
   
   
9. The for-hire component of the recreational fisheries operates more like a commercial fishery than the private anglers component and a different approach to data collection should be designed to treat it as a commercial fishery.  For-hire vessels should be required to keep logbooks of fish caught and kept as well as released.  Logbook data would be required to be submitted to the NMFS and MRFSS.  This should be made mandatory in order to maintain a license.
   
   
10. A program within the NMFS for on-going technical evaluations and modifications should be put in place to keep the MRFSS methodology and statistical analysis more up to date.  In addition, an independent research group should be funded permanently to investigate matters of quality control and apparent bias.
    
    
11. More financial support is needed for implementation of the MRFSS.  The current administration is understaffed and lacking in essential funds to maintain the quality and scope of the survey.
    

In 2006, Congress echoed the recommendations of the NRC report through the reauthorization of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation Act.  The reauthorized act requires the creation of a national marine angler registry and an updating of MRFSS survey methods.  In spring of 2007, a Development Plan for Improving Recreational Fisheries Statistics was approved and a joint federal and state Executive Steering Committee was established to oversee projects exploring how to implement the NRC recommendations.  NOAA’s goal is to have a new plan in place by June of 2008 with improved survey techniques and results being incorporated over the following years.

 

Page last modified Wednesday, October 31, 2007 by George E. Carroll