Improvements Coming To Fishing Data Collection

Field samplers with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) will be deploying tablet-based data collection and submission as part of the state’s Snapper Check program, the department announced. “This switch to tablet-based data collection from paper streamlines our process and results in the availability of more timely data,” said ADCNR Marine Resources Division Chief Marine Biologist Kevin Anson. “This also improves our quality control process, which leads to better data. Samplers will be able to more efficiently collect information from recreational anglers, which, in turn, will increase the number of interviews conducted per assignment.” Currently, Snapper Check collects catch and effort information from owners and operators of state for-hire vessels and private recreational fishing vessels with red snapper, gray triggerfish or greater amberjack. It consists of an electronic reporting system in which anglers provide catch and harvest information for these species after each fishing trip and a dockside survey to gather trip information and measurements from landed fish.