Anglers’ Database Broadens Its Scope to Red fish – Trout – Snook – Tarpon – Bone fish & Permit.
A new age of angler activism is dawning and participants in Year Two of the Angler Action Program are on the cutting edge.
Since the inception of the program in May 2010, anglers recorded more than 2000 hours of fishing, documenting the catch of 1693 Snook.
See the breakdown of Fall and Summer Fishing reports below.
This information was shared with FWC fishery biologists, who asked for an expansion of the program to include additional species.
Many fish caught by recreational anglers in Florida are released. Recording data on both the harvested and released fish, anglers are building an information base that can help better determine the abundance and condition of our fish stocks
Anglers get involved with science-based fishery management
The combination of an on-the-water data collection form with an online logbook makes it easy for anglers to accurately record timely catch data in the Angler Action Program, giving inshore anglers the chance to become part of the solution to highly pressured fish stocks.
Data collected by anglers will reduce uncertainty in science-based fishery management.
An easy-to-use form can be completed while fishing and then transcribed directly onto the internet. Meetings are scheduled for those who want direct instruction and more hands-on experience (including fishing!)
To put your hands on these and other tools, including a short ‘how-to’ video, go to the [Data page] on SnookFoundation.org
The Angler Action Program is not a substitute for directed research, and it will take time to understand the data in context, but angler surveys, including the FWRI’s Snook Logbook program that was initiated with funding from the
Snook Foundation, has provided valuable information for fishery management.
The Snook Foundation designed the Angler Action program with Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and TPWD Coastal Fisheries Division input and closely tracks the information biologists ask in face-to-face surveys.
However, data collected through this program is much broader in that it also includes fish that are not harvested but released.
The web application currently is paid for by donations to the Snook Foundation. Here’s how to [donate] or [join.]
We want angler reports of numbers of fish caught, kept, released, with the option of providing more detailed information about the lengths and locations of each fish captured, kept, or released.
The form takes 2-3 minutes to fill-out…
– Rick Roberts, Snook Foundation
“The form takes 2-3 minutes to fill out, maybe even less after an angler has used it a couple of times,” said Roberts. “We’re excited about the prospect of giving recreational anglers a tool to contribute meaningful information about what are, after all, their fisheries.
Your Fall Fishing Report – 2010
282 anglers spent 919.5 hours catching 761 snooks, an average of .83 snook per hour
18 zero catch trips were reported (18/163 = 11% zero catch)
the snook caught were sized as follows:
593 under slot
69 in slot
99 over slot
14 were harvested
Your Summer Fishing Report:
358 anglers spent 1085.25 hours catching 932 snook
Catch Rate = 932/1085.25 or .859 snook-per-hour
23 zero catch trips were reported (23/208 = 11% zero catch).
The snook caught were sized as follows:
631 under slot
163 in slot
138 over slot
none harvested (season closed)