Over the past year, NOAA Fisheries developed, refined, and launched a strengthened procedure for review of recreational fishing catch and effort estimates. We conducted this effort in close collaboration with our Atlantic and Gulf of America state and interstate marine fishery commission partners.

In summer 2025, we updated the process to include Hawaii state partners.

“This is an evolving process that has benefited greatly from our regional and state partners’ local fisheries expertise and knowledge in identifying estimates that appear inconsistent with expected fishing behavior patterns or past trends, including results that could have important implications for fisheries management,” said Dr. Katherine Papacostas, program manager for the NOAA Fisheries Marine Recreational Information Program. “Their collaboration and dedication significantly enhances the recreational fishing data collection partnership and the quality of recreational fishing data used to inform stock assessments and fisheries management decisions.”

This partner review process augments NOAA Fisheries’ existing internal data review quality checks. These include estimate reviews from regional experts at our regional offices and science centers.

The Review Process

We notify state and interstate marine fisheries commission partners when we post preliminary catch and effort estimates to our online data query tool following our estimate publication schedule. Partners then review and flag estimates requiring further investigation in their states/regions based on a series of scenarios, including:

• An unexpectedly high or low estimate for a high-profile species in comparison to other estimates in the year/season or the same 2-month period over time; or unexpected or unusual length and weight distributions
• An estimate that unexpectedly exceeds an annual catch limit by a significant amount
• An estimate for a high-profile species that unexpectedly exceeds an annual catch limit by any amount
• An estimate that is significantly misaligned with seasonal or in-season projections
• A very high or very low estimate in comparison to other estimates in the year/season or in the same period over time for species with short recreational fishing seasons
• Landings for prohibited species or species landed out of season
• A very high or very low estimate for species with pending regulation or fishery management plan changes or with near-term stock assessments

Following the timeline outlined in the procedure, we will:

• Investigate the flagged estimates
• Document the outcomes of the investigations
• Share findings and any associated estimate updates with partners

“The goal is to balance data revisions with the need to maintain data continuity and minimize disruptions for data users, as well as to ensure efficient use of staff and partner resources,” said Papacostas.

Positive Partner Response

Partner response to the strengthened review procedure has been positive.

Alex DiJohnson, Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program recreational team lead, said, “It’s been really, really great so far,” adding that states feel a new sense of ownership in the estimate review process. “The states seem excited,” he noted. “They’re ready to get their hands dirty.”

Dawn Franco, Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resources Division marine biologist, agrees. “We greatly appreciate the open dialogue and the renewed emphasis on estimate review over the past year. The process has become more streamlined along the way.”

Franco mentioned that in many cases the estimates flagged so far for Georgia originated from dockside survey interviews with unique catch data inconsistent with typical angler behavior.

“In most of these instances, NOAA Fisheries was successful in making adjustments to the flagged estimates following their investigation,” she said. She cited one example in which a single angler in a party harvested an abnormally high number of dolphinfish (i.e., mahi-mahi). “After identifying this estimate outlier, NOAA Fisheries reduced the estimate by 26 percent, using standard statistical weighting procedures, so the estimate is more representative of angling behavior for the fishery.”

Additional Estimate Review and Tracking Tool Forthcoming

We are also developing a new online data review tracking tool to streamline and improve efficiency of data reviews. It will serve as a comprehensive, transparent record of estimate reviews and outcomes. A prototype is anticipated by the end of 2025.

“We are committed to continuing to strengthen our relationships with partners across the recreational fishing data collection community and working together on collaborative ways to improve transparency and data quality,” said Papacostas.