Making Improvements: MRIP Initiative

The Marine Recreational Information Program, or MRIP, is the new way NOAA Fisheries is counting and reporting marine recreational catch and effort. It is an angler-driven initiative that will produce better information through a process grounded in the principles of transparency, accountability and engagement. MRIP replaces the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey, or MRFSS, which has been in place since the 1970s.

MRIP is designed to meet two critical needs.

• Provide the detailed, timely, scientifically sound estimates that fisheries managers, stock assessors and marine scientists need to ensure the sustainability of ocean resources.
• Address head-on stakeholder concerns about the reliability and credibility of recreational fishing catch and effort estimates.

MRIP explicitly recognizes that the numbers we produce do not exist in a vacuum, that they have real impacts on the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans. At its core, MRIP is built on the recognition that no single agency can effectively safeguard our ocean resources. Rather, the effort requires the buy-in, cooperation and engagement of a broad network of people.