Increasing the Efficiency of Angler Surveys by Canceling Sampling during Inclement Weather

Abstract

Operational modifications on the basis of meteorological conditions and angler activity patterns can be successfully formulated to improve harvest-sampling efficiency without a significant loss of information. A savings in time and money could be realized if days in which two or fewer interviews would be made because of inclement weather could be identified and sampling on those days were canceled. This study was conducted to determine the amount of interview and harvest data that would be missed coastwide and within individual bay systems in Texas if sampling were canceled on days predicted to have bad weather conditions and little or no angler activity. A multiple-regression analysis was used to relate the effect of day type, wind speed, air temperature, and rain on angler activity. For ease of use, predicted data were plotted on nomographs. The percentages of interviews and harvested fish that would have been missed coastwide by canceling bad sample days during the low-use season (21 November-14 May) were less than 4 and 3%, respectively. An average of 23% of the weekday and 4% of the weekend day samples would have been canceled coastwide during the 2 years of this study, thus allowing the annual redirection of 420 personnel-hours and nearly US$6,000 in operating expenses.