A joint state-federal-community initiative is now underway to better answer the questions of who’s fishing and how often, where and when anglers fish, and what they catch.  New regulatory mandates have led to increasingly greater demands for more timely and accurate information on recreational fishing.  A team of scientists, managers, and fishermen are working on new ways to get data collection in better sync with today’s management needs.  Having good quality data leads to confident decision-making about how best to conserve marine ecosystems for present and future generations.

The goal of the initiative is an improved marine recreational information program to ensure that
what’s seen in the data reflects what anglers see on the water.