How We Sample Anglers in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii and Puerto Rico Fisheries

Most current angler surveys separately sample anglers’ catch rate and effort (the number of fishing trips they make), and then incorporate a statistical procedure to estimate total catch. Catch and effort information is gathered separately to ensure we get the most complete and accurate results possible. This means the survey program is comprised of two parts:

  1. In-Person Intercepts – NOAA Fisheries contractors and state agency employees work together, serving as in-field samplers to conduct angler surveys.  Samplers may work at marinas, boat ramps, and shore fishing sites to interview anglers about their trips and count, weigh, and measure their catch.  From that information, gathered over time and in various locales, the average catch per trip is estimated.  

    Learn more about important changes to this survey happening in 2013    .
  2. Telephone Interviews – NOAA Fisheries hires telephone interviewers who randomly contact households in coastal communities (a practice known as “random digit dialing”), and operators of charter boats and headboats. When a saltwater angler is found and agrees to participate in an interview, he or she is asked the number of trips they took in the preceding two months (a frequency known as a “wave”). Similarly, charter boats and headboat captains provide information about the number of trips and anglers their boats took over the sampling period. From this information the total number of trips is estimated.

    Learn more about how we’re using angler registries to improve this survey    .

Total catch is then estimated by combining these two independent sets of data, using the following formula:  Catch per Trip  x  Number of Trips  =  Total Catch.

This is our general approach to surveying anglers for the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii and Puerto Rico fisheries.  In practice, MRIP uses several different surveys depending on the mode of fishing or area of the country. To learn more, check out all our compliment of different surveys.