The Marine Recreational

Information Program Who Decides How Many Fish I Can Catch?

Where Can I Learn More?

Scientists, stakeholders, public officials and many others all 

have a hand in making recreational fishing regulations. But if 

you’re a fisherman, the process ultimately revolves around you.

That’s because of the many roles fishermen play when it comes to 

protecting ocean resources:

As an angler, you’re on the front line of conservation. 

The decisions you make about when you fish and what 

you keep have a real impact on the resource, and on how 

fisheries are managed.

As our “eyes and ears” on the water, you’re a major 

source of data. What you tell us about how often you 

fish and what you catch is vital information that helps us 

understand what’s happening in the fishery. 

As an engaged constituent, your input at regional 

meetings, through your fishing club, at Council 

and Commission meetings, and at public forums, 

ensures that recreational fishermen have a voice in the 

management process. 

MRIP is a new tool that is helping NOAA do a better job of 

counting your catch, and providing new ways to ensure your 

catch counts.

Outreach Questions

Forbes Darby

Recreational Fishing 

Outreach Coordinator 

TEL: (301) 713-9501

Forbes.Darby@noaa.gov

Program Questions

Gordon Colvin

National MRIP

Program Manager

TEL: (301) 427-8118

Gordon.Colvin@noaa.gov

www.countmyfish.noaa.gov U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Marine Fisheries Service

NOAA
Improving the Way NOAA Counts Catch 

MRIP is challenging the way we’ve done things in the past through rigorous scientific testing and evaluation of our methods.

What’s New?

WHAT WE’RE TESTING WHAT WE’VE DONE IN THE PAST WHAT WE’RE EVALUATING FOR THE FUTURE

How phone surveys are 

conducted. 

Phone surveys were conducted using randomdigit dialing of coastal households only. Lots of 

calls were made to non-anglers, and we never 

called anglers who don’t live on the coast.

The new National Saltwater Angler Registry will serve as a national “phone 

book” of fishermen, significantly increasing our ability to target anglers directly.

Timeliness of data. All data has been delivered to managers every 

two months.

We are developing survey designs that could be modified to provide more 

frequent updates in response to management needs.

How we measure catch 

per trip.

We assumed that catch sampled during peak 

times could accurately estimate catch across an 

entire 24-hour period.

We will sample sites during four specified six-hour blocks. Sampling during 

both peak and non-peak times will enable us to more accurately estimate 

catch across a whole day.

How samplers gather 

information.

Samplers had some discretion in which sites to 

go to and in what order.

Samplers will conduct interviews at a specific cluster of sites in a specific 

randomized order, ensuring more structured sampling and less sampler 

discretion.

Where samplers interview.

Samplers were directed to maximize the number 

of angler interviews, potentially creating a bias 

toward peak times and popular areas.

Samplers will now be directed to maximize the number of sites visited – 

including continuing to visit sites where there is no or low fishing activity – to 

ensure a more representative look at fishing activity across a geographic area.

When samplers conduct 

interviews. Little or no sampling was done late at night.

Samplers will now work during all day parts, including at night, because the 

number of people fishing and what they’re catching can vary greatly during 

different times of the day.

Under MRIP, our 

general approach to 

surveying anglers will 

continue. However 

the way we collect 

and report that 

information will be 

different – and better.

1 Effort Number of fishing trips 2 Catch 3 Estimate Total number of fish caught What individual anglers caught 

and discarded

Randomly selected fishermen are surveyed by 

phone or mail.

Shoreside samplers observe and record catch 

information from fishing trips.

After validating the data quality, scientists use 

statistical methods to make estimates.

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Quick Guide to Estimating Recreational Fishing Activity

How will the new 

numbers be better?

They will be more 

accurate. MRIP will 

remove the potential 

biases in the way we gather 

information, allowing for 

higher quality data. This 

is a critical improvement 

that will help managers 

better conserve ocean 

resources and ensure 

fishing regulations are fair 

and effective.

However, there is no way 

to predict how reducing 

the potential for bias 

will impact the specific 

estimates. Some may go up, 

some may go down, and 

some may stay virtually the 

same.
Why Haven’t I Ever Been Surveyed?

Although we talk to thousands upon 

thousands of fishermen each year through 

our surveys and dockside sampling, you may 

never be one of them. By its very nature, 

random sampling means that some people get 

interviewed, and some people don’t.

Will MRIP Look at Other Ways to Estimate Catch?

MRIP will constantly evolve. The more we learn as we make 

improvements to our processes, the more we’ll know moving forward 

what types of changes have the most impact. That knowledge in turn 

will fuel new ideas, new studies, and ultimately new solutions.

Have Fishermen Been Part of the Process?

Recreational fishermen have played a major role in 

developing and implementing MRIP. The MRIP team 

includes charter boat operators, fishing club leaders, 

recreational fishing advocates and fishing conservation 

groups working side-by-side with Council and Commission 

staff, marine scientists, state and federal workers, and many 

others to build MRIP from the ground up.

Fisheries management decisions, like size and catch limits and the length of open 

seasons, are based on a continuous cycle of collecting data, assessing fishery health, 

setting catch targets, and making effective regulations to keep those targets from 

being exceeded. Our goal is to ensure fisheries remain productive – now and for 

generations to come.

Improvements made under MRIP have a positive ripple effect throughout the process. 

By improving the way we 

gather information about 

how often you fish and 

what you’re catching, we 

can produce better data to 

feed into the process.

Better assessments 

based on better data 

yield regulations 

that are grounded in 

sound science and 

angler input.

End goal: Fisheries 

remain sustainable and 

overfishing is prevented.

Counting Your Catch – What Saltwater Anglers Should Know

Some level of uncertainty is a foregone part 

of any activity where all the variables cannot 

be known up front.

Just like a family may have to make hard choices 

in its household budgeting to respond to changing 

circumstances, fisheries managers often must 

make adjustments – sometimes very difficult ones 

– to regulations based on what they learn about 

past fishing activity as the information becomes 

available.

Since it’s not possible to count every fish caught 

right as it’s landed, managers have to wait until 

catch estimates are available before they can 

determine the allowable catch for any given 

species. If the numbers show that too many 

fish were caught during one fishing season, 

adjustments have to be made to ensure that 

recreational fishing is sustainable for future 

seasons. MRIP will help to reduce the two kinds 

of uncertainties fisheries managers must consider: 

those inherent in the process of survey sampling, 

and those that result from the time required to 

develop estimates.

Better methods we’ve implemented will 

make our estimates more accurate right out 

of the gate, improving the decision-making 

process. 

Gathering more data through increased 

telephone and intercept surveys will 

enhance the precision of our estimates. 

As MRIP evolves, it may be possible to 

shorten the time it takes to make estimates, 

reducing the lag time between fishing 

activities and management actions. 

How Does MRIP Impact Fisheries Regulations?

Doing a Better Job of Making Your Catch Count

Commercial Reporting

Scientific Observation

Assessing

Status of Stocks

Recreational Reporting

Biological Factors

Councils and 

Commissions

State and Federal 

Agencies

Fishery

Stakeholders

Setting Catch 

Targets

Better angler-reported 

data – coupled with the 

other scientific research 

we conduct – helps 

produce more reliable 

information about the 

health of fisheries 

Marine Recreational Information Program

Making 

Regulations

Collecting

Data

www.countmyfish.noaa.gov

Can Sampling Surveys Really Produce Accurate Numbers?

With 15 million saltwater recreational anglers taking 100 million fishing 

trips a year, it is simply not possible to interview every angler to find out 

when they went fishing and what they’ve caught. We understand that no 

angler and no trip are the same. However, NOAA gets an accurate picture 

of an entire fishery by looking at the activities of a random sample of 

anglers. The same concept applies to political polling and TV ratings, or to 

sipping a spoonful of soup to know what the whole bowl tastes like.