Ken Brennan, NOAA’s chief of the Recreational Fisheries Monitoring Branch. | NOAA
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is celebrating 50 years of the Southeast Region Headboat Survey, the longest-running investigation on recreational saltwater fishing in the southeast Atlantic.
The survey initially only included the 300-foot-deep outer continental shelf off the Carolinas. It moved slowly south, eventually making it to the Gulf of Mexico in 1986. Currently, the southeast Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico each have an average of 140 participating vessels, according to a NOAA news release issued Tuesday.
“Fishermen past and present see species such as black sea bass, red snapper, vermillion snapper, grunts, porgies and several grouper species,” said Ken Brennan, NOAA’s chief of the Recreational Fisheries Monitoring Branch, according to the release. “These are all important fish species throughout the southeast United States. They are part of the snapper-grouper management complex, which has been a key group for the survey to monitor and provide data for management purposes.”
Brennan said these are important fish species throughout the southeast United States, the release reported. As part of the snapper group management complex, NOAA Fisheries is a key group to monitor and gather data for management purposes.
Significant technological advancements in the previous 50 years have improved fish-catching capability and efficiency, according to the release, as NOAA Fisheries has continued to modify its data-collection techniques. For example dockside samples, port agents use computerized measuring boards, scales and computer tablets.
The crucial data collection will continue through the Southeast Region Headboat Survey, allowing evaluation and research on the long-term shifts and trends in fish stocks.
