| NOAA 99-R136 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Stephanie Dorezas 6/23/99 |
|
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service awarded Macro International Inc. of Calverton, Md., a contract worth over $3 million over the next three years to conduct surveys that track the fishing effort of recreational saltwater anglers throughout the country, the Commerce Department agency announced today. Macro International will conduct the 1999 marine recreational fishing telephone survey as a component of the Fisheries Service's annual Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey. The agency estimates that more than 887,000 telephone interviews with coastal county households along the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts will be conducted over the three-year period. The Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey has been conducted since 1979 and allows the agency to manage the nation's fisheries resources and assess the impact recreational fishing has on the nation's economy. provide a reliable database for estimating the impact marine recreational fishing has on the nation's marine resources. The recreational survey is comprised of two independent surveys: (1) a telephone survey of households to collect data on the number of saltwater-angling trips taken, and (2) a field survey of anglers' catch information. Management goals of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act make it necessary for the Fisheries Service to collect data on marine recreational fishery catches. Macro International is a professional and
technical services firm focused on survey research, training,
management consulting and information technology. The Fisheries
Service awarded Macro International the intercept contract for
the 1999-2001 survey in September 1998, and with this award of
the telephone component, they will be the contractor for both
components of the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey.
The telephone component of the survey will be managed from Macro's
office in Burlington, Vt. |