Abstract

From 1997 through 1999, state and federal agencies cooperated to conduct a pilot study of an alternative method for estimating charter boat angler fishing effort in the Gulf of Mexico. Cooperating agencies included the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC), the marine fishery agencies of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and the National Marine Fisheries Service which funded the pilot study. The new method sought to improve effort estimates by collecting trip data via weekly telephone interviews of a 10% random sample from a directory of charter boat owners/opemtors. Respondents reported the number of charter boat trips, numbers of anglers who fished, and primary areas fished. The existing Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey (MRFSS) methodology utilizes a random-digit-dialing (RDD) telephone survey of coastal households, which requires a large correction factor due to a significant percentage of charter anglers not residing in coastal counties. We compared the two methodologies and found that charter directory estimates were considerably more precise than RDD estimates with more than a 50% reduction in standard error. Total annual effort estimates did not differ significantly; however, the new methodology produced geographic and temporal distributions of charter fishing effort which were considered much more credible by the Gulf for-hire industry. The new methodology indicates fewer trips in the Exclusive Economic Zone, more trips in inland areas, and no significant difference in the number of charter trips in State Territorial Seas. The primary implications of the new methodology include:\i) More accurate fishing area data,\ii) Relatively low respondent burden,\iii) Increased cooperation and participation by the for-hire industry, and\iv) More precise and accurate data making it easier to identify changing trends in the for-hire fishery.\This new methodology has been officially adopted by the National Marine Fisheries Service as the new MRFSS method for the Gulf of Mexico from West Florida through Louisiana beginning with 2000. Dependent on funding, we hope to implement the new methodology nationwide by 2001-2002.

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