Improving Private-Access Marine Recreational Fishery Surveys in California

The California Recreational Fisheries Survey (CRFS) employs samplers to interview anglers who fish on beaches, piers, and in boats along the entire 1,100 mile California coastline.  The resulting field interviews, and a telephone survey of licensed anglers, are the primary data sources for estimation of the recreational take of marine fish in California.  For private-access fishing (i.e. fishing from boats based at private marinas and moorings), estimation of effort and of catch rates currently poses a challenge, as field samplers do not have access to these sites.  Private-access fishing effort is currently estimated via the telephone survey of licensed anglers, but the resulting effort estimates are imprecise, owing to the relatively few numbers of private-access anglers contacted.  Moreover, the telephone survey gathers no catch data.  The California Department of Fish and Game conducted two surveys of private-access boating anglers in 2008 and 2009 to evaluate alternative methods for estimating private-access fishing effort, and to test the assumption of equal catch rates in the existing survey.  A field survey conducted at seven private marinas in southern California generated private-access fishing effort estimates for comparison with CRFS private-access telephone survey estimates.  A logbook survey enlisting more than 1,000 anglers in southern California compared avidity, target species, and catch rates of public- and private-access boating anglers.  The feasibility of field-based private-access fishing estimates was demonstrated, and assumptions regarding catch rates in the private-access fishery were challenged.  Field-based estimates of private-access fishing effort were generally more precise than telephone survey estimates; however the field survey in southern California cost approximately twice as much as the existing statewide telephone survey.  The logbook survey showed that there are some significant differences between public-access and private-access boat lengths, trip duration, number of anglers per trip, and catch rates, providing information for consideration in future adjustments to private-access catch estimates.