Current and Future Participation in Marine Recreational Fishing in the Southeast U.S. Region

摘要

In order to supplement baseline data collected as part of the ongoing Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey (MRFSS), the National Marine Fisheries Service conducted an add-on survey during the March 1997 to February 1998 MRFSS telephone survey of households in coastal states in the Southeastern U.S. (North Carolina to Louisiana). Demographic data collected for the add-on survey were used to develop age, gender, and ethnicity profiles of resident marine recreational fishing participants for each coastal state within the region. These data were also used to develop population cohort participation rates that were combined with U.S. Census Bureau population projections to provide forecasts of marine recreational fishing participation for the period 2000 to 2025. Forecasts were developed for resident participation in each coastal state and for the region. These forecasts are comparable to forecasts developed for the Northeast region by Thunberg et al., 1999 and for the Pacific region (Milon, 2000). The forecasts do not include nonresident participants who may be a sizeable share of total participation in some states.