March 22, 2023 —The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
The Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program and NOAA Fisheries have jointly released the Marine Recreational Information Program Regional Implementation Plan for the Atlantic Coast. It highlights data needs and funding priorities over the next 5 years for improving recreational fisheries data collection on the Atlantic Coast.
“Our regional and state partners are essential to developing, executing and improving our national network of recreational fishing surveys that inform catch estimates,” said Evan Howell, NOAA Fisheries, director of the Office of Science and Technology. “We rely on partners like ACCSP to efficiently facilitate regional partnerships and joint data collection activities, as well as identify regional priorities through tools like our regional implementation plans. I want to thank all of our partners for their hard work to develop this plan together, and we look forward to our continued partnership as the plan is implemented.”
ACCSP is the state-federal partnership that collects, manages, and disseminates Atlantic commercial and recreational fisheries data and serves as the MRIP Regional Implementation Team for the Atlantic Coast. It also coordinates state conduct of the MRIP Access Point Angler Intercept Survey and For-Hire Survey from Maine to Georgia. Program partners include coastal resource agencies from 15 states and the District of Columbia, 2 interstate marine fisheries commissions, 3 regional fishery management councils, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and NOAA Fisheries. To provide better data for stock assessment and management, the ACCSP Coordinating Council and Recreational Technical Committee (RecTech) identified top priorities for improving recreational data collection on the Atlantic Coast through 2027.