New Large-Scale Survey Methods for Evaluating Sport Fisheries

This paper describes a methodology that has been applied in large-scale regional surveys and recently a national survey of recreational fishing in Australia. The methodology has been developed in response to the need to provide reliable and detailed catch, effort and economic information whilst recognising logistic and financial constraints. The result has been a multifaceted design, the primary component of which is an integrated telephone and diary survey. Using general population (or licence list) sampling, an initial screening interview is employed to collect profiling information and identify intending fishers. This is followed by a diary survey in which responsibility for data collection rests with survey interviewers. Diarists are contacted regularly by telephone throughout the diary period and the interviewers record any details of fishing or expenditure activity since last contact. The frequency of this contact is tailored to the needs and behaviour (fishing avidity) of the diarist. Diary response rates of greater than 95% have been achieved across a range of surveys using this methodology. An important contributor to this success has been the underlying design philosophy to minimise respondent burden and recall bias. Yet, simplicity for the respondent translates to substantial responsibilities on the part of the interviewer, where in turn, careful staff recruitment, training and management are vital. Additionally, a rigorous approach to other design aspects has resulted in a range of quality control and validation measures to address various response biases and other sources of nonsample error. The efficacy of the telephone-diary methodology has been demonstrated in the Australian studies reviewed and indicates its wider applicability and policy relevance to recreational fisheries elsewhere.