History of MRIP Development
2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
2011 In the spring, scientists, managers, and anglers meet in St. Petersburg, FL for a workshop aimed at expanding efforts and evaluating options to report out more timely recreational fishing catch and effort estimates. To learn more, watch a video about the Timeliness Workshop.
NOAA Fisheries scientists, in partnership with leading outside experts, create an improved method
for estimating recreational catch using data from existing shoreside angler survey data. The new
method addresses a major concern raised by the National Research Council's evaluation of MRFSS
–that the MRFSS catch estimation method was not correctly matched with the sampling design
used gathering data, leading to potential bias in the estimates. Eliminating potential sources of
bias is a fundamental change that lays the groundwork for future improvement and innovations,
many of which are already being piloted.
Side by side with the improved estimation method, MRIP teams conclude a pilot study in North
Carolina to evaluate a new sampling design for the Access Point Intercept Survey, which is used to
collect angler catch data. The goal of the study is to eliminate potential bias in the estimates at the
source by reducing uncertainty and variability in the way samplers interview fishermen. To learn
more, watch a video about how we're addressing bias.
In August, MRIP completes data collection for a Logbook Reporting Program in the Gulf of Mexico.
The project requires participants to provide weekly reports of all fishing activity. This included
electronic logbook reporting by Federally-permitted vessels in the panhandle region of Florida and
Corpus Christi area of Texas. A final report is expected in early 2012.
As of October, every state and territory in the nation except Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Virgin Islands have implemented their own licensing or registration systems and established
memoranda of agreements with NOAA Fisheries' National Saltwater Angler Registry to share
angler data. This means that most U.S. anglers are not required to register at the Federal level as
long as they comply with state licensing requirements.
MRIP teams test alternative effort survey approaches to determine what means of surveying –
phone, mail or a combination – and lists of people to survey, or "frames," will return the best
results. The National Saltwater Angler Registry serves as one of the new frames, and – along with
Post Office and telephone databases – is tested against the current method of random-digit-
dialing of coastal households.
These and other project updates are included in the 2011/2012 Program Update.
2010 National Saltwater Angler Registry goes into effect on January 1, 2010. NOAA Fisheries begins registering saltwater anglers. By Independence Day, more than half a million anglers become registered.
To better track the financial and fishing impacts of the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill, NOAA Fisheries expands the telephone survey of for-hire operators in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile MRIP pilot projects begin field testing methodologies for census and universal logbook reporting, among other innovations.
The painstaking work of evaluating past surveys, challenging assumptions, testing new methods and updating survey designs continues. For example, NOAA Fisheries tests license/registry based surveys alongside traditional methods as data sets are provided by the states. New estimation procedures developed through the MRIP process undergo peer review to independently evaluate methodologies and ensure improved performance.
These and other project updates are included in the 2010/2011 Program Update and in the 2011 Report to Congress.
2009 NOAA Fisheries initiates a process of designating states as exempted states under the National Saltwater Angler Registry by entering into Memorandum of Agreement under which exempted states will provide data to NOAA Fisheries.
MRIP work groups complete a comprehensive, independent review of ongoing for-hire fishery data collections. Pilot projects to explore methods recommended by the review, including electronic reporting methods, methods to account for non-response, and a project to design a pilot study that will test the feasibility of logbook reporting in the Gulf of Mexico are among research projects initiated.
MRIP work groups undertake a comprehensive inventory of sampling and estimation designs for recreational fishing surveys administered by NOAA Fisheries. They also conduct a review of sampling and estimation method for the Access Point Intercept Survey. Based on that review, MRIP work groups develop a revised estimation method, as well as recommendations for changes to intercept sampling design. This creates a solid statistical foundation on which to make additional survey improvements.
These and other project updates are included in the 2009/2010 Program Update.
2008 NOAA Fisheries finalizes a rule, developed by the Saltwater Angler Registry Team and updated based on public comments, outlining the national saltwater angler registry requirements and state exemptions. The Registry is designed to be a national “phone book” of recreational fishermen to be used in conducting surveys on recreational fishing catch and effort. The registry will both improve the efficiency of the survey process and broaden the sample set of anglers interviewed. Fishermen who live in states that already require saltwater fishing licenses and share data with NOAA are exempt from the registry.
A comprehensive implementation plan for MRIP is finalized. In keeping with the collaborative nature of MRIP, the Implementation Plan is developed as a dynamic tool that can be updated in response to emerging science or changing circumstances. To inform the plan’s development, NOAA conducts a series of Listening sessions with regional partners to learn about their fisheries and data needs.
Information starts coming in from pilot projects developed and launched to evaluate the most effective ways to gather, analyze, and corroborate recreational fishing data. Findings from the pilot projects will be used to inform the ongoing implementation of MRIP.
2007 The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is reauthorized. The legislation echoes many of the concerns raised by the National Research Council in calling for redesigned angler surveys. It also includes a requirement for NOAA Fisheries to develop a new national saltwater angler registry as a key part of a broader redesign effort.
NOAA Fisheries creates an MRIP Development Plan to establish the initiative’s overall structure and focus. Teams of experts from NOAA Fisheries, state agencies, regional fisheries councils and commissions, and partner organizations are convened to deal with distinct aspects of the redesign process. Teams are tasked in these focus areas: Data Management and Standards, Design and Analysis, For-Hire Surveys, Highly Migratory Species Surveys, the Saltwater Angler Registry, and Communications. This approach promotes a survey redesign process that is inclusive and transparent.
The Operations Team hosts a work team workshop in St. Pete, Florida to catalogue research needs and identify priorities for survey redesign. MRIP team leads conduct a series listening sessions with management and science partners in order to learn more about the regional fisheries unique characteristics and data needs.
2006 The National Research Council releases its findings, recommending NOAA Fisheries and partnering state agencies dramatically redesign angler surveys to update data collection methods and analyses and foster positive relations with the recreational angling community and other stakeholders.
NOAA Fisheries convenes a Management Framework Workshop of state and federal fisheries agency leaders, managers, and biologists in Denver, Colorado, to evaluate current data needs and review the National Research Council’s findings. NOAA Fisheries is tasked with preparing, in cooperation with states and other partners, a blueprint for redesigning angler surveys by 2008. An executive steering committee is formed shepherd the process.
2005 NOAA Fisheries engages the National Academy of Sciences’ Natural Research Council to conduct an independent scientific review of the government’s data collection programs related to saltwater sportfishing.