SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTFISHING GEODATABASE (SFSGEO) DESIGN DOCUMENT

Information on fishing locations is essential for effective socioeconomic analysis of spatial fishery management policies such as marine protected areas. Furthermore, information on the spatial distribution of fishing effort is required to adequately assess the impact of fishing on coral reef habitat and related ecosystems. Detailed information on fishing locations has not been consistently collected for recreational fisheries in the U.S. There are, however, a number of

independent data sources that, taken together, can provide a more complete picture of the distribution of fishing effort. This document describes a database tool that integrates datasets related to sportfishing in South Florida to enable the exploration of spatial and temporal aspects of angling effort in the region.

The National Marine Fisheries Service Marine Recreational Fishing Statistics Survey (MRFSS), the Southeast Headboat Survey (HBS), the Southeast Fishery Science Center (SEFSC) Aerial Survey, and the Biscayne National Park (BNP) Recreational Creel Survey have been integrated into the South Florida Sportfishing Geodatabase (SFSGeo). Phase one of the SFSGeo focuses on the fishing effort location information in the database.

2 This version of the SFSGeo measures the monthly and annual counts of sportfishing vessels observed in ten minute square aggregated fishing areas (AFAs) off the coast of Palm Beach, Broward, Dade, and Monroe counties. The vessel counts are available for private and for-hire fishing modes from 1991 to 2003. Additional data and functionality will be incorporated into subsequent versions of the SFSGeo.

The next section defines the structure and scope of the SFSGeo, with an emphasis on the creation of common spatial units for the study area. Section three introduces the fisheries and environmental datasets used to populate the SFSGeo. The fourth section provides a summary of the final attribute data associated with the main spatial unit in the SFSGeo

Title : South Florida sportfishing geodatabase (SFSGEO) design document

Personal Author(s) : Carter, David W., 1971-;Rivero, Carlos;Aguilar, Sandra;Kleisner, Kristin;

Corporate Authors(s) : United States, National Marine Fisheries Service;Southeast Fisheries Science Center (U.S.);United States, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,;Coral Reef Conservation Program (U.S.);

Published Date : 2008

Series : NOAA technical memorandum NMFS-SEFSC ; 578

URL : https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/507