PARENT SESSION
Oral Session 9: Marine Ecology I: Management.
Presiding: D Policansky
Monday, August 2, 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM, Meeting Room C 120.

An assessment of the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey data as a tool for the evaluation for changes in Florida inshore fisheries ecology.

Cody, Richard^*,1, ¹ Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Saint Petersburg, FL, USA

ABSTRACT- The National Marine Fisheries Service Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey (MRFSS) has been the primary data source for catch and harvest estimates of marine fish from U.S. coastal waters for more than 20 years. The field intercept portion of the survey provides information on catch composition and quantity at the angler trip level. However, this component of the survey has rarely been used to evaluate regulatory or environmental effects on fishery trends. In Florida, commercial netting was banned from state territorial waters in July 1995. Socioeconomic and regulatory changes that occurred in the years prior to and following the net ban have made it difficult using traditional fisheries methodology to assess the impact on catches of those species expected to benefit from the cessation of commercial netting. The species composition records for angler trips that targeted two inshore species, spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) and red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) were evaluated for the years 1989-2002 using a variety of multivariate analyses and clustering methods. Species composition was shown to change over time. Most notably, species composition was more consistent and similar for the years 1999-2002 than for the three years immediately following the net ban. Although findings are consistent with predictions of an increase in trophic stability, the roles of survey methodology and environmental influences are difficult to assess.

Key words: Sciaenops ocellatus, Cynoscion nebulosus