Large Pelagics Survey At-a-Glance

How does NOAA Fisheries collect information about offshore large pelagic recreational catch?

Offshore recreational fishing trips for highly migratory species use distinct fishing methods to target specific species. Because these trips are so specialized, they often are not captured by our general recreational fishing surveys. Therefore, the Large Pelagics Survey (LPS) is a set of complementary surveys used to estimate total catch of tuna, sharks, billfish, swordfish, and other offshore pelagic species. The LPS is administered by NOAA Fisheries’ Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) and is conducted by a contracted firm and state partners. The survey is administered in coastal states from Maine through Virginia from June through October, which is when most fishing trips targeting large pelagic species occur. The survey is administered starting in July in the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine.

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The LPS includes three components:

• The Large Pelagics Intercept Survey (LPIS) collects catch data via dockside/public-access interviews from a sample of private and charter boat operators who just completed a fishing trip targeting large pelagic species. The resulting data are used to produce species-specific estimates of catch per trip.
• The Large Pelagics Telephone Survey (LPTS) collects numbers of fishing trips (effort) during specified time periods from a sample of Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Angling and Atlantic Tunas general category permit holders. HMS Charter/Headboat permit holders are surveyed as part of an “add-on” to the For-Hire Survey. The resulting data are used to produce effort estimates of vessel trips in which anglers fished with hand-gear (i.e., rod and reel or handline) for large pelagic species. Some large pelagic species do not require an HMS permit, so trips by vessels without an HMS permit targeting those species are not covered by the telephone survey. Therefore, data collected from the Large Pelagics Intercept Survey are used to calculate an expansion number, so the total effort is representative of all LPS trips.
• The Large Pelagics Biological Survey (LPBS) collects length and weight data and biological samples (i.e., otoliths, muscle tissue, first dorsal spines, and gonads) from Atlantic bluefin tuna. Unlike the intercept and telephone surveys, the resulting data are not incorporated into our recreational catch estimates. Instead, the data and samples are used by the Southeast Fisheries Science Center to assess the age structures of stocks, population genetics, growth rates, and reproduction rates. This information helps inform stock assessments.

Estimates and Estimate Publication Schedule

Effort (total vessel trips) is primarily estimated from the LPTS vessel trip count data, while catch per trip is estimated from detailed catch data collected from the LPIS.  Estimates of total catch are produced by multiplying catch per trip by total trips within domains defined by year, month, state area, boat type (private or charter), species, and catch type (harvested, released alive, or dead discard).

Preliminary estimates from the LPS are published monthly approximately 40 days after the end of each one-month survey administration period (e.g., June estimates are published in early August, July estimates are published in early September). Microdata (individual survey responses) and finalized estimates from the LPS are published within the 1st quarter of the following year.

For more information on the LPS design and estimation procedures, reference Section 7 of the MRIP Survey Design and Statistical Methods Manual.

Estimate Review Procedures

The LPS has quality assurance and control procedures in place to promote data quality. 

• Checks on potential errors are run on the data, including:
  • Logic checks (e.g., sold catch reported for a vessel with an Angling category permit)
  • Range checks (e.g., landings count above legal limit, high numbers of trips reported during a timeframe)
  • Manual review of catch records to identify unusual species, counts, and lengths
• LPS interviewers undergo regular training on survey procedures and fish identification and performance check-ins from field supervisors
• Follow-up calls are made to random subsets of interviewed captains to verify data collected by LPIS interviewers, and silent monitoring of LPTS interviewers is conducted to check questions are being asked correctly and answers recorded accurately
• Annually, in mid-September and mid-December, LPS data review meetings are held that include staff from NOAA Fisheries, state agency partners, and LPS contractor project managers and field supervisors. Participants review raw LPS data and catch and effort estimates for the current year and discuss any issues encountered during the season as well as next steps.
• Any flags raised by these processes trigger data investigations that may result in data corrections or data removals and additional interviewer training or intervention

View additional information on data review and data-use considerations

What are the benefits of participating in the Large Pelagics Survey?

When anglers participate in a recreational fishing survey, they’re making a vital contribution to our understanding of recreational catch. The data provided to the Large Pelagics Survey are used to produce catch estimates that are published on a monthly basis. 

Complete and accurate information from the offshore recreational fishing community informs international stock assessments and helps ensure managers receive the catch information they need to monitor against quotas and pass only those regulations necessary for the long-term sustainability of stocks.

Are improvements planned for the LPS?

We conducted studies to improve the current Large Pelagics Intercept Survey in order to produce more statistically valid and precise catch estimates for large pelagic species. This included computer simulations of a revised design under various scenarios, as well as field tests to identify potential improvements to the design. A pilot study of the revised design was conducted from 2020 through 2023 from New Hampshire to Virginia. Pilot testing in Maine began in 2024 and is expected to conclude by the end of 2025.

Based on the study results, we plan to make improvements to the LPIS sampling design and catch estimation methods. This includes modifying current design features that cannot be statistically accounted for, such as interviewer determined start and end time, site selection, and time spent at each site. In addition, data collected during the interviews will be statistically weighted, so fishing trips are properly represented in the catch estimate based on the level of fishing pressure or activity at the interview site. The interview questionnaire of the revised design is the same as the current design, so anglers will not be asked to do anything differently. At this time, we do not recommend changes to the certified LPTS and the LPBS.

What is the timeline for implementation of the new survey design?

We initially anticipated implementation of a new design in 2026, pending favorable peer review and certification in 2025. 

While we do anticipate a successful certification for the revised LPIS design and catch estimation method by the end of 2025, due to resource constraints, additional next steps and implementation of the revised design are currently unknown. The current LPIS will continue to be administered until additional resources become available.

What are the bluefin tuna indices of abundance?

These indices are more formally known as the U.S. rod and reel indices of bluefin tuna relative abundance. They are calculated through a modeling methodology created and maintained by fishery scientists at NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC). These scientists use microdata (individual survey responses) from components of the LPS to estimate a relative measure of stock abundance and trends in abundance over time for the smaller recreational fishery size classes of bluefin tuna. These are key inputs for the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas bluefin tuna stock assessment and management strategy evaluation. 

SEFSC updated their methodology used to calculate the indices of abundance following feedback from a 2021 workshop, and they submitted a technical report on this updated methodology to ICCAT’s Standing Committee on Research and Statistics at the end of 2021. It’s important to note that the modeling methodology used to produce the indices is separate and independent from the survey estimation methodology (Section 7) used to produce the LPS catch and effort estimates by NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Science and Technology. Therefore, no LPS estimates were revised based on SEFSC’s updated modeling methodology used to calculate the indices of abundance.

More Information

• Recreational Fishing Surveys
• Atlantic HMS Reporting Requirements
• LPS Outreach and Educational Resources
• HMS Bluefin Tuna Landings (Previous year’s recreational landings of bluefin tuna posted each spring)