In an August 2, 2024 email blast titled “Progress Updates on Marine Recreational Information Program Data Collection Initiatives,” NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology Director Evan Howell provides a progress update on the ongoing study of the Fishing Effort Survey and the collaborative initiative to re-envision the recreational fishing data partnership.
“We may be in the dog days of summer, but I am pleased to share that progress continues on two high-visibility recreational fishing data collection initiatives — our Fishing Effort Survey study and the collaborative initiative to re-envision the partnership,” Howell noted, sharing the federal agency’s desire and need for a recreational fishing data collection partnership to be “nationally coherent and regionally specific” and for improvements to be informed through our partners and the recreational fishing community.
In an article that appeared in the September, 2023 edition of The Fisherman called “NOAA Bombshell! Angler Effort Surveys Still Flawed,” it was reported how the Fishing Effort Survey (FES) used by NOAA Fisheries to estimate recreational saltwater participation along the Atlantic Coast and Gulf of Mexico is likely overestimating angler effort by as much as 30 to 40%. Launched in 2015 as part of the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) which replaced the earlier harvest/effort survey known as MRFSS (Marine Recreational Fishing Statistical Survey), the FES uses mail surveys administered for six independent two-month reference waves.
In that article, Howell had explained how NOAA Fisheries planned to run a larger-scale follow-up study to gain a clearer understanding of the differences in effort estimates between the current design and a revised version. “The follow-up study will be conducted over the full course of 2024 with the revised design administered alongside the current design,” Howell said at the time, explaining how monthly sampling will produce more frequent estimates, while a shorter respondent recall period could also minimize reporting errors. “Lowering the reporting error rate should ultimately produce more accurate data and resulting estimates of effort,” he said.
In his latest status report, Howell said the federal fisheries agency is entering the eighth month of survey administration as part of a year-long large-scale study to determine differences in respondent recall and resulting recreational fishing effort estimates between the current FES and a revised design. “Please note that there is still a large amount of data to collect and analyze before fully informed comparisons can be made, including the direction and magnitude of differences in effort estimates,” Howell said recently, adding “However, we are optimistic this study will inform considerable, near-term improvements to the Fishing Effort Survey and resulting effort estimates.
As for the timeline for revisions, Howell explained that NOAA Fisheries was planning to conclude data collection for the study by the end of the year, with a full report outlining key findings expected during the summer of 2025. “Ultimately, in 2026, we will determine if and how a new design will be implemented in collaboration with our partners and pending favorable study results and peer review,” Howell noted.
A second major initiative that Howell and his team are working on currently is the re-evaluation our recreational fishing data collection partnership approaches. “The goal is to transition to a new, collaboratively developed vision for the state-federal partnership in 2026 — one that better meets regionally specific data needs for sustainable, adaptive fisheries management,” Howell said.
Thus far in 2024, the agency has held four virtual briefings with approximately 150 key partners and members of the recreational fishing community across the nation to introduce the effort and garner initial feedback on the re-envisioning process and objectives. He said NOAA Fisheries expects to host additional discussions with key partners and schedule listening sessions during specific regional fishery management council meetings through the fall of 2024, which he hopes to lead to working groups and regional workshops during the summer of 2025.
“As we work through the re-envisioning process, we will continue to incorporate immediate, positive changes along the way,” Howell added.
Until then, it’s safe to say that FES and MRIP will continue overestimating angler effort by as much as 30 to 40%, unless some “immediate positive changes” come their way.
