Marine recreational fishery statistics survey

The National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey (MRFSS) collects data for estimating the impact of marine recreational fishing on marine resources. This information is used by Fishery Management Councils, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), as well as Federal and State resource agencies to formulate fishery management plans, to evaluate future demands on fish stocks and to predict and evaluate the impact of fishery regulations. The MRFSS consists of two complementary surveys. A telephone survey of households in coastal counties, from which angler trips or effort are estimated and an intercept survey of anglers at access sites, from which estimates of catch rates and species composition are derived. In the intercept survey, data is collected in three different modes: shore, private/rental, and headboat/charterboat in the intercept survey. Grant no. NA66FG0216