Smartphone apps can add valuable information about recreational fishing catch and effort to improve fisheries management, but further research is needed to make them a robust alternative to the accepted ‘gold standard’ data collection method.
Mobile phones are an increasingly important tool for recreational fishers, from weather and tide information to fishing regulations, checking in with family and friends, and sharing images of their catch.
It seems only a short step to suggest that phones could also offer a low-cost option for gathering much-needed data about the efforts of recreational fishers to improve fishery management decisions.
South Australian fisheries scientist Craig Noell has been part of a team at the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) testing exactly that. The research is part of a three-year project (2020-056) co-funded by FRDC and Primary Industries and Regions South Australia, working in partnership with the University of Tasmania’s Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS).
To test the feasibility of a smartphone app as a cost-effective option for gathering recreational catch data, the project team ran a conventional ‘gold standard’, but relatively expensive phone survey side-by-side with an app-based survey for 12 months during 2021–22.
The data collection app was built into the existing SA Fishing app that keeps recreational fishers up-to-date with fishing regulations, catch limits, and closures, including the closure in all South Australian waters for Snapper, except for the South East. In that region, which remains open to Snapper fishing, it is mandatory for recreational fishers to record their Snapper catch through the app.
Issues for app data
In terms of voluntary recreational fishing reporting, the project identified four key issues that could influence the results of the app-based approach:
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The app highlights the risk of self-selection avid bias by recreational fishers, meaning that only some recreational fishers are using the app. This can skew the data and make it difficult to accurately represent the overall fishing population.
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Recreational fishers might only report successful fishing activities. In reporting catch and effort through the app, it is important for fishers to report both their successful and unsuccessful trips.
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Apps need to have a user-friendly design, and there are always refinements that can be made to improve usability and protect privacy.
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Recruiting and retaining app users to report their catch in the long term proved challenging, despite significant promotion through social media and other fishing networks and it also requires ongoing investment.
In comparing catch information across the project’s two data-gathering approaches, the greatest correlation was for Southern Calamari (Sepioteuthis australis), with only a two per cent difference between the app-based and survey-based reported catch. The greatest variation was for Yellowfin Whiting (Sillago schomburgkii) with a 63% difference in the reported catch between approaches.
Assisting Management
Because of the identified issues, the project concluded that app-based reporting currently provides valuable supplementary information to traditional data-gathering approaches for recreational fishing rather than replacing them.
However, with increased coverage and further fine-tuning of adjustments, biases are likely to reduce, making them an increasingly attractive option for obtaining recreational catch information that is accurate, reliable, timely and cost-effective.
FRDC Senior Research Portfolio Manager Dr Chris Izzo says FRDC is keen to investigate how technology can support more cost-effective methods of gathering recreational fishing data, to help gather this data more often.
“This is important because fisheries are dynamic, and the health of fish stocks are influenced by a range of factors,” says Chris. “Being able to have timely recreational fishing data complementing commercial catch data will help to manage fish stocks more effectively.
“This project provides a good case study for fisheries and fisheries managers nationally, many of whom are looking at ways to capture better data to improve management,” he says.
FRDC Project 2020-056: Evaluation of an app-based recreational fishing survey against population benchmarks from a traditional probability-based survey
