Quantifying fishing activity within and adjacent to NE Gulf of Mexico marine protected areas

"The goal of this project was to determine the amount, type, and spatial pattern of fishing activity within the Madison-Swanson and Steamboat Lumps MPAs as well as within adjacent areas open to fishing on the west Florida shelf. The study had three main objectives: 1) to develop field sampling methods using fixed-wing aircraft for obtaining georeferenced data on fishing and other vessels operating within the Madison-Swanson and Steamboat Lumps MPAs and adjacent areas; 2) to develop a statistical sampling design and conduct seasonal aerial surveys of vessels in the target MPAs and adjacent areas; and 3) to develop statistical analysis procedures for quantifying fishing and other vessel activity within the survey domain"--P. 3. 2007 Grant no. NA17RJ1226 CoRIS (Coral Reef Information System) MPA (Marine Protected Areas) Library Public Domain 1858