February 3, 2015 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council: Listening Session: New Recreational Fishing Effort Estimation Methodology
Guest Speaker: Rob Andrews, NOAA Fisheries, Office of Science and Technology
Wednesday, February 11, 2015 ∙ 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Doubletree by Hilton Raleigh Brownstone-University
1707 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27605
Telephone 919-828-0811
Webinar: http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/february2015/
Members of the public are invited to attend the Council’s next listening session at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 11th for a presentation and discussion about new methods of estimating recreational fishing effort. Rob Andrews from NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Science and Technology will give a brief presentation and answer questions about the new methodology. The listening session is being held in conjunction with the February Council Meeting. Individuals are welcome to attend in person or via webinar at the link above.
Background
Over the past several years, NOAA’s Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) has been working on ways to improve effort estimates on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. In 2014 NOAA Fisheries released preliminary findings from a multi-year pilot project which indicated that mail surveys are likely do a better job of capturing recreational fishing effort by reaching a broader population of anglers and getting more accurate information from respondents.
The pilot study produced effort estimates substantially higher than the estimates currently produced by the phone survey, meaning that implementation of the mail survey could have profound impacts on the management of some Council-managed fisheries. Before the new effort estimation methods can be used for management purposes, the two surveys will be run side by side for several years to calibrate the old data with the new survey. A transition team with representatives from NOAA Fisheries, Fishery Management Councils, Marine Fisheries Commissions, and state partners has been formed to design an implementation plan.
Additional background materials may be found at:
http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/recreational-fisheries/program-overview/mrip-effort-survey.
Please contact Jason Didden at jdidden@mafmc.org or (302) 526-5254 if you have any questions regarding the listening session process or if you would like to confirm that your computer is set up to access the webinar.
