Recreational fishery catch and effort estimates for large pelagic species from Maine through Virginia from 2002-06-01 to 2014-10-31 (NCEI Accession 0137959)

On the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Virginia, NOAA Fisheries uses the Large Pelagics Survey (LPS) to measure the total recreational catch of large pelagics fish including tunas, billfish, swordfish, sharks, dolphin, wahoo, and amberjack. The LPS includes different survey components, each of which gathers the specific pieces of data needed to form the complete picture of recreational fishing activity. The Large Pelagics Intercept Survey (LPIS) uses dockside interviews with randomly selected anglers and for-hire captains returning from fishing trips targeting large pelagics. This approach is used to measure average catch per trip, average size of kept fish, and number of fish released alive. The Large Pelagics Telephone Survey (LPTS) conducts telephone interviews with randomly selected recreational anglers and for-hire captains who hold Highly Migratory Species (HMS) permits. This approach is used to determine fishing effort, or the total number of trips taken for large pelagic species during a given period of time. Information from the two survey components (dockside LPIS and telephone LPTS) are combined using statistical models to produce estimates of total catch numbers (by species or size class for bluefin tuna) and total effort in vessel trips.