Marine Recreational Information Program: Update

1. Marine Recreational Information Program: Update MRIP Webinar October 4, 2010

2. How Did We Get Here?

3. Marine Recreational Information Program Goal: The MRIP goal is a nationwide system of surveys operating with consistent standards and sufficient flexibility to meet national, regional, and state needs, and to provide reliable information about recreational fishing in a timely manner to support effective and fair management

4. Original Governance Structure

5. “New” Governance Structure

6. “New” Governance Structure • Operations Team • Survey Coverage • Discards • Sampling and Estimation • License Frame Surveys • Rare Event Species • For-Hire • Data Quality

7. National Strategy Regional flexibility Development of survey design, estimation and management standards and best practices Utilization of angler registries as sample frames Unbiased sampling and estimation designs For-hire specific data collection approaches Quality assurance and quality control standards Enhanced information management and data dissemination tools

8. Regional Surveys Regional survey partners will make their own decisions to meet regional needs within the “umbrella” guidance of MRIP to apply survey parameters such as: • Basic survey design choices • Coverage and resolution beyond standard minimums • For-hire data collection approach • Biological sampling requirements

9. MRIP will satisfy needs for accuracy, resolution, coverage and data access • Initial efforts are focusing on accuracy and access to information • NRC recommendations • As improved methods are developed focus will shift toward resolution and coverage

10. MRIP ProjectsAddressing NRC Recommendations • Develop comprehensive, universal sampling frame with national coverage; • Dual-frame procedures should be used whenever possible to reduce sample bias; • The estimation procedure for information gathered onsite does not use nominal or actual selection probabilities of the sampling design, and therefore, has the potential to produce biased estimates; • Onsite methods fail to intercept anglers who have private access to fishing waters;

11. MRIP ProjectsAddressing NRC Recommendations • Charter, party and other for-hire recreational fishing operations should be required to maintain logbooks of fish landed and kept as well as fish caught and released; • The survey fails to provide a valid and reliable method of accounting adequately for fish caught and not brought back to the dock; • Panel surveys, which contact anglers repeatedly through time, should be considered; • Development and maintenance of a central data warehouse for recreational fisheries and development of appropriate dissemination tools (Role of Federal Agency).

12. 2010 OT Priorities

13. Develop Registry-Based Surveys(License Frame Surveys) • Implement Federal angler registry • Dual-frame surveys • Telephone • Mail • Enhancing mail survey response rates • Assessing the effects of length of recall period on data quality

14. Coverage Error of Onsite Surveys(Survey Coverage) • Assessing impact of private-access and night fishing on catch composition and catch rates

15. Sampling and Estimation Methods(Sampling and Estimation) • Document sampling and estimation designs for MRFSS surveys • Development of alternative estimation procedure for MRFSS intercept survey • Alternative sampling design for MRFSS intercept survey • Evaluate estimation methods for participation • Review of Estimation Methods for Oregon and Washington Recreational Fishing Boat Surveys

16. Develop New Methods for Discards(Discards) • Quantifying Accuracy of Self-Reported Data on Atlantic Coast Headboat Trips • Video Assessment of Recreational Discards

17. Implement For-Hire Improvements(For Hire) • Document for-hire data collection programs • Independent review for-hire data collection methodologies • Puerto Rico for-hire census • Southeast Region Headboat Survey (SRHS) – redesign onsite survey • SRHS – develop online reporting mechanism • Validation of HI CML reporting • Gulf of Mexico logbook reporting

18. Sampling Rare Event or Pulse Fisheries(Rare Event Species) • Evaluation of tournament trips in Large Pelagics Survey • Characterization of HMS fisheries in South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico • Characterization HMS fishing in Puerto Rico • Develop HMS-specific data collection program in Puerto Rico

19. Information Management • Develop MRIP Data Management System (MDMS) • Document Ongoing Recreational Fishing Data Collection Programs • Develop MRIP Information Management System Data Quality • Assessment of survey QA/QC procedures

20. Evolving Data Needs For ACLs • Manager needs: • Data that’s more timely and more precise to support tough decision-making on ACLs and AMs. • Is it possible? And if so, when?

21. TRADEOFFS • Yes, but there are tradeoffs timeliness, precision, and cost – choose two

22. Next Steps • 2010 projects getting underway • Analyze tradeoffs among cost, timeliness and resolution: new project/fall workshop • Peer review of new methods • Implementation of survey improvements - Revised estimation: by end of 2010 - Registry-based effort surveys: in 2011 - Revised intercept survey design: in 2011

23. Discussion www.CountMyFish.noaa.gov