| The Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Program team provides
essential marine recreational fisheries information to government,
scientists, and the public. Since 1979 they have conducted the annual
Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey (MRFSS)
The purpose of this national survey
is to provide a reliable database for estimating the impact of
recreational fishing on marine resources.
This impact can be quite large for
many recreationally fished species. There are nearly 17 million
recreational marine anglers. In 1997, nearly 17 million anglers made
68 million marine fishing trips to the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific
coasts. The estimated marine recreational finfish catch was 366
million fish, more than 50% of which was released alive.
Thanks to the consistent cooperation
of conservation minded anglers, the MRFSS now encompasses over 20
years of continuous and standardized data, and represents the most
scientifically credible and consistent picture of marine recreational
catch, effort, and participation in the world.
Click the MRFSS Home page link to
learn more about the program and to see their reports, technical
manuals, and to query their database.
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