November 13, 2014 — The following was released by NOAA:
You will be interested to know we have taken another important step to improve the quality of recreational data that informs our decision-making.
We are convening a team of experts to help us transition to a promising new method of surveying private boat and shore-based saltwater recreational anglers along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts about their fishing trips, or effort.
Preliminary findings from an extensive, multi-year pilot project indicate mail surveys do a better job of capturing recreational fishing trips than our current coastal household phone survey.
Moving to a mail survey may sound counter-intuitive, but our pilot project results indicate mail surveys do a better job of capturing recreational fishing trips by reaching a broader population of anglers, getting more accurate information from respondents, and delivering higher response rates.
Other government agencies, including the U.S. Census Bureau and many highly respected research firms now use mail surveys because of their effectiveness.
The switch to the mail survey will not happen overnight. In fact, we don't expect it to be fully implemented and used for science or management decision-making before 2016 at the earliest. That's because we know from past experience that major methodological changes can disrupt our assessment and management activities.
This is why we are standing up a team to smartly manage the transition to the mail survey. The team includes both members of our staff and representatives from the Councils, Commissions, and states.
The expert team will work with state and regional decision-making bodies to develop the most appropriate way to shift to the new mail survey so as to minimize potential impacts.
We will not fully implement the new survey until we can explain any differences between estimates and determine how the new numbers can be used in stock assessments and for catch accounting.
I invite you to ask us questions by participating in an informational webinar on Monday, November 24 at 2:00 pm (EST). You can register here or by contacting Leah Sharpe. And follow our progress online at www.CountMyFish.noaa.gov.