In 2016, coastal states from Maine through Georgia will transition to conducting the Access Point Angler Intercept Survey (APAIS) to collect information on marine recreational fishing catch and effort data in their own waters, according to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).
APAIS is a component of the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP). The survey has been administered by NOAA Fisheries through a third party contractor. Early APAIS programs have been successful in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
The states, through the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), approved a plan to transition to state conduct of APAIS in 2016.
Under the plan, NOAA Fisheries will retain primary accountability for APAIS and will be responsible for survey design, catch and effort estimation, and public dissemination.
ASMFC/ACCSP will act as the central coordinator of the state-conducted APAIS and be responsible for data entry, compilation, quality control checks and edits, as well as formatting and delivery of intercept data to NOAA Fisheries.
States will manage field collection, which will be conducted by state employees in accordance with APAIS standard data collection protocols.
source: Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission