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Mississippi unveils state-run recreational fishing survey; staff seeks NOAA certification
Summary
Department staff described MS Creel, a state-run recreational fishing effort and catch survey modeled on Louisiana's program, and said the agency will submit documentation to NOAA seeking certification to replace or supplement MRIP for Mississippi assessments.
Trevor (staff member) presented MS Creel to the commission on Sept. 16 as a state-run recreational catch and effort program that the department says improves precision and representation for Mississippi fisheries. "This program represents what we view as the solution, and make no mistake about it. This is a fundamental shift in how fisheries will be managed at the federal level to all fairly managed species," Trevor said. Trevor described the program’s two parts: a phone- and email-based effort survey tied to the state license frame and a dockside intercept program conducted nine times per week. He told commissioners MS Creel was run side-by-side with the federal Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) during 2024–25 and that differences in estimated effort arise primarily from the effort-survey method rather than dockside intercepts. Trevor said the state program relies on the license universe to define the population and segregates a recreational offshore landing permit (ROLP) strata for frequent offshore anglers. He said that approach reduces the influence of unlicensed respondents and that weekly sampling allows quicker detection of short-term changes in fishing effort. On next steps, Trevor said staff will submit the program’s documentation to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for review and certification and that the department has coordinated with Louisiana and Alabama during development. "Our next step is essentially submission to the program for certification by NOAA," he said. Commissioners and the director asked about sample sizes, interoperability with MRIP-based federal assessments and how certification could affect federal stock assessments and management advice. Trevor cautioned that certification will require subsequent calibration and may lead to challenging conversations about multiyear averages and management advice for stocks previously assessed under the MRIP currency. No formal commission action was taken during the meeting; the presentation was recorded as a staff briefing and request to proceed with documentation submission for certification.
