The theoretical basis of an access site angler survey design

The theoretical basis is presented for a new design of angler surveys. The design was used in a survey to assess recreational fishing on New York's Great Lakes and tributaries. The large geographic area and budget constraints necessitated a survey design that could cover broad areas with the maximum efficiency of a limited number of survey agents. The model for the survey relates the amount of time that a survey agent has the angling party's car in view at an access site with the amount of time the party spent fishing. Geometric inclusion probability functions are developed and equations for estimating fishing effort are given. The special case when access sites are not limited to angler use (the case for many marinas) is also discussed and an estimator for fishing effort developed.