Recreational Fishing Survey 2007 / 08

Recreational fishing survey  - a joint investment in the future.

This page has been created to keep all interested fishers up to date with the 2007-08 South Australian Recreational Fishing Survey.  Information will be added on a regular basis so make sure you visit this page from time to time to see how the survey is proceeding.

The survey

Scope of the survey

The survey team

Key survey components and timing

How to get involved

Survey updates

The Survey

PIRSA Fisheries is committed to maintaining the high quality of our recreational fisheries now and well into the future.  To achieve this, up-to-date research information is vital.  

In 2000-01, South Australia participated in the National Recreational and Indigenous Fishing Survey (NRIFS).  You can read about the results of that survey in 2000-01 National Recreational and Indigenous Fishing Survey (published July 2005).  

As year-to-year changes naturally occur in regional fish populations (and other species), so can the levels of fishing activity and catch rates.  For this reason, it is important to have access to up to date data.  

2007-08 has been chosen for the next state-wide survey of recreational fishing in South Australia.  This survey will use the same methodology as the 2000-01 NRIFS, to enable comparison maximise data comparability and trend measurement.

View a short video story on the 2007-08 Recreational Fishers survey. (4.11 Mb wmv)

View transcript

Scope of the Survey 

The survey will cover the following aspects of recreational fishing:

  • All South Australian waters, both marine and freshwater;
  • All non-commercial fishing activity by South Australian residents, aged 5 years or more; 
  • All shore and boat-based fishing and the various fishing methods, including line-fishing, diving, pots and nets; 
  • All species are to be included, with special emphasis on the key managed species, namely King George whiting, snapper, garfish, southern calamary, rock lobster, abalone, blue crabs, mulloway, golden perch, Murray cod and Goolwa cockles; 
  • Data on the numbers of fishers and the levels of fishing effort, harvest and release will be collected on a regional basis.

The Survey Team

The survey is to be undertaken and managed by PIRSA Fisheries (Keith Jones), in collaboration with specialist consultants Kewagama Research (Laurie West) and the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute (Jeremy Lyle). 


Key Survey Components and Timing

Survey Design (April – July 2007): To ensure that we capture a representative sample of recreational fishers, we have extensively analysed data from the NRIFS to identify the most cost-effective sample size and distribution for the new survey.  For each region of the state, many factors have been considered – such as the numbers of fishers, the extent to which they fish locally (or travel), the key target species and fishing methods. 

After conducting previous surveys, some anglers have questioned the accuracy of the results, because “they” were not included in the survey.  Clearly, it would be too expensive to interview all SA residents fishing in the state (328,000 from the 2000/01 survey) – nor is it necessary, as demonstrated by the statistical strength of information obtained through the NRIFS.

The Screening Survey (August – September 2007): using highly experienced interviewers, approximately 7,500 households (randomly selected from ‘White Pages’ telephone listings) will be interviewed across the state.  Their participation in recreational fishing in the previous 12 months will be assessed, together with demographic profiling (age, gender etc) and the results expanded to latest resident population estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).  Those households intending to fish in the coming 12 months will be invited to take part in the second phase of the study, i.e. the telephone/diary survey.

The Telephone/Diary Survey (October 2007 – September 2008):  more than 1,000 households (comprising well over 2,000 fishers) are expected to participate in this survey.  Initially, each household will be sent a survey kit (diary cards, species identification sheets) and asked to record details of any recreational fishing activity over the ensuing 12 months,  including time spent fishing and numbers of each species caught or released. 

These households will be contacted regularly during the survey(usually monthly) and any fishing information collected via a brief telephone interview.  By conducting the survey over a 12 month period, full seasonal coverage will be obtained.

The ‘On-site’ Survey (October 2007 – September 2008): At major boat ramps, jetties and other key shore fishing sites, randomly chosen fishers will be interviewed by trained researchers at the completion of their fishing events to gather information on the average size of fish retained. The on-site survey will provide additional information on fishing by interstate and overseas visitors, which cannot be collected through the telephone/ diary survey.

This information will be supplemented by fishers who volunteer to record details of their catches, including the sizes of the fish they catch, through log books provided by PIRSA Fisheries. 

Data Analysis and Reporting (Dec, 2008 – early 2009): soon after the surveys commence, we’ll begin to input data to our databases, so that within a few months after completing the surveys, we’ll be ready to fully analyse the results.  It is expected that the final survey report will be available by mid 2009.
 

How to get involved 

The ultimate success of this project relies heavily on the co-operation of the recreational fishing community.  Importantly, all survey phases will be conducted on a completely voluntary and confidential basis. 

So whether you fish a lot or only occasionally, please help out if you are randomly selected in any phase of the survey.   Remember, the information collected from this survey will be of immense value in providing sustainable numbers of fish into the future year.  

Those fishers keen to voluntarily assist in providing their fishing details through the fishing log books should email us at: pirsa.fishingsurvey@saugov.sa.gov.au.

Survey Updates 

Regular updates reporting on the prgress of the survey are available here.