MRIP Certification of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Ocean Sampling Program and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Angler License Directory Online Survey and Private/Rental Boat Recreational Fishing Surveys
NOAA Fisheries is announcing the certification of several state-sponsored recreational fishing surveys on the West Coast through our Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP). The surveys include three currently operational surveys — California's two private rental intercept surveys and Washington's Ocean Sampling Program (OSP) — as well as California’s new Angler License Directory Online Survey (ALDOS), which is replacing a telephone survey.
MRIP certification means we have found the surveys, through an independent peer review, to be statistically valid approaches to meet survey objectives and provide key recreational fishing estimates. Surveys that have been MRIP-certified are eligible to receive program funding.
We will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure the data produced from these surveys are most effectively incorporated into the federal recreational fisheries assessment and management processes.
Since California's two private rental intercept surveys and Washington's OSP pre-date MRIP and our certification process, these surveys have already been incorporated into the federal assessment and management processes and have been receiving NOAA Fisheries funding. Now that they are certified, they will remain as a priority to continue to receive funding.
Since the inception of MRIP, a transition plan that includes calibration is required for any survey MRIP certifies: 1) whenever there is a change in recreational fishing survey methods, and 2) that change results in changes in the scaling of recreational fishing catch and effort estimates. A transition plan outlines crucial steps for moving from one survey method to a new or improved survey method.
California is working with NOAA Fisheries on a transition plan for ALDOS since it’s a new fishing effort survey. In developing the transition plan, differences in estimates between California’s previous telephone survey and ALDOS will be evaluated to determine if calibration is needed. Calibration would enable historical estimates from the former telephone survey design to be expressed in the same unit as the improved online design, so meaningful comparisons can be made and for use in fisheries assessment and management.
While the certification of California's two private rental intercept surveys and Washington's OSP is not leading to significant changes in methods or estimates, we will still collaborate with our partners to discuss any transition needs for these programs.
NOAA Fisheries works closely with state and regional partners to help them meet data collection needs within their unique recreational fisheries. Through MRIP, we provide partners with access to technical resources, statistical support, and funding for data collection and survey implementation and improvements. Since 2020, these surveys annually receive NOAA Fisheries’ Modern Fish Act funding administered through the Pacific Coast Recreational Fisheries Information Network. In 2022, this funding was used to increase survey sampling levels to improve the precision of estimates produced from the surveys.
Other surveys on the West Coast are currently going through the MRIP certification process, including California’s Party/Charter Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel field intercept survey; Oregon’s Shore and Estuarine Boat Survey and its Ocean Recreational Boat Survey; and the Puget Sound Sampling Program.
Learn more about the certifications here.
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