Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey

Since 1979 data on recreational fisheries have been collected using the Marine

Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey (MRFSS).

The purpose of the MRFSS is to establish a

reliable data base for estimating the impact of marine recreational fishing on marine resources.

The MRFSS is comprised of 2 independent but complementary surveys:

A telephone survey of households in coastal counties is used to collect effort data (number of angler trips) while a dockside intercept survey is used to collect catch information (catch per angler trip). Prior analysis of the telephone data has shown that anglers spend time fishing at night in certain states at different times of the year.