Selecting a survey design to monitor recreational angling for striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay

Abstract Since 1985 the striped bass fishery has been closed in Maryland to allow the stock to rebuild. In the fall of 1990, the fishery will reopen for 5 wk and managers will need to assess the impact of commercial, charter boat, and recreational fishing on the striped bass population. In particular, fisheries managers must select a survey design that accurately tracks the striped bass catch of recreational anglers. The selection process is complex since there are many political, social, and technical factors that must be taken into account. To capture the impact of these diverse factors, we propose modeling the angler survey design selection problem using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP).