NRC Endorses Proposal for Saltwater Angler Registration The National Research Council (NRC), part of the National Academy of Sciences, has presented NOAA with the preliminary findings of a study to improve the agency’s scientific program for recreational marine fisheries. NOAA commissioned the NRC study in 2004 to gain unbiased scientific insight into ways the agency can strengthen its recreational fishing data collection program to meet the modern needs of fishery managers. In presenting the findings last week, the NRC called a national registration of all saltwater anglers “the most effective way to achieve a comprehensive, universal sampling frame with national coverage” of recreational fishing data. The current method of capturing recreational data – the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistical Survey (MRFSS) – is handicapped by a number of issues, including a small staff, lack of a universal sampling for all saltwater anglers, lack of uniform participation in data collection efforts by all the states, and modest funding to run the data collection program. The NRC concluded that a revised fisheries data collection design and new analysis methods are needed. The NRC also called for better communication and outreach to the recreational fishing community about the need for accurate recreational fisheries data and standardization among state surveys, and between state surveys and the central MRFSS program.
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NRC Endorses Proposal for Saltwater Angler Registration
The National Research Council (NRC), part of the National Academy of Sciences, has presented NOAA with the preliminary findings of a study to improve the agency’s scientific program for recreational marine fisheries. NOAA commissioned the NRC study in 2004 to gain unbiased scientific insight into ways the agency can strengthen its recreational fishing data collection program to meet the modern needs of fishery managers.
In presenting the findings last week, the NRC called a national registration of all saltwater anglers “the most effective way to achieve a comprehensive, universal sampling frame with national coverage” of recreational fishing data. The current method of capturing recreational data – the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistical Survey (MRFSS) – is handicapped by a number of issues, including a small staff, lack of a universal sampling for all saltwater anglers, lack of uniform participation in data collection efforts by all the states, and modest funding to run the data collection program. The NRC concluded that a revised fisheries data collection design and new analysis methods are needed.
The NRC also called for better communication and outreach to the recreational fishing community about the need for accurate recreational fisheries data and standardization among state surveys, and between state surveys and the central MRFSS program.
For more information, read the
Fo**********@no**.gov
.