New Jersey Voluntary Angler Survey(s) Jeff Brust and Maryellen Gordon NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife Volunteer Angler Survey Workshop Baltimore, MD February 2, 2012

Bonus Program Logbooks Striped Bass Bonus Program VAS Implemented 1993 (paper), 2007 (online) Specific to striped bass –Catch, effort, harvested lengths Stock assessments, management options Thousands of individuals at peak; less than 100 in 2011 –Less incentive to participate –Still good participation from party/charter vessels Program being phased out

NJ VAS Overview Implemented June 2008 Similar to MRFSS –Trip info, catch info, lengths Marine waters of NJ and surrounding area Voluntary, internet based, open access

Objectives Supplement/complement MRIP data Fill data gaps –Wave 1 –Length data, particularly discards Address concerns of constituents –“I’ve never been interviewed!” –Alternate management scenarios

Summary statistics

Target species

Primary uses to date Length frequency data for regional stock assessments –Fluke –Black sea bass Development of fluke management strategies –Strategies not supported by MRIP data –Still requires MRIP effort data Not enough Wave 1 data to do anything with yet Many key species without much data

Harvest by mode for fluke

Harvest to catch ratio for fluke

Fluke length frequencies

Length frequencies

Fluke catch frequency distribution

Performance comparison - fluke 2009 NJ recreational fluke quota 809,000 fish = 2.8 million lbs MRIP estimated harvest –107% of quota (revised) VAS estimated harvest –110% of quota (effort data through 2009)

Future directions Roll striped bass and general surveys into single survey Outreach to increase participation Individual user accounts Annual summaries of reported data Increased IT and analytical staff support

Summary statistics