Statewide recreational fishing survey

Who is being surveyed?

Recreational fishing and rock lobster licence holders are randomly selected to voluntarily participate in the survey. This allows us to collect a large and diverse array of data to better understand recreational fishing behaviour. 

What information is being collected?

The statewide recreational fishing survey is one method we use to grow the department's understanding of recreational fishing activity in WA.  

During the survey, we collect the following information:

• the number of people fishing recreationally (number of licence holders)
• how much time is spent fishing (days on boat/hours spent fishing)
• how often recreational fishers go fishing
• where and when they go fishing
• how often they fish at new artificial reef sites 
• what fishing methods are used
• the fish species they are targeting
• how many fish are caught, how many are kept, how many are released, and the total number caught
• the harvest for key species
• satisfaction and motivation of recreational fishers
• fishing-related expenditure 
• size of recreational fishing vessels. 

How is information collected?

The statewide recreational fishing survey uses 3 methods to gather information: 

• Offsite phone surveys conducted by researchers from the Edith Cowan University (ECU) Survey Research Centre give us estimates of fishing effort and fishing catch for key species. 
• Onsite surveys at boat ramp access points gives us average weight of key species. 
• Remote camera monitoring give us a better understanding of where and when boats are launched and retrieved. 

What’s next?

When the survey ends, the information gathered will be analysed before being made publicly available in a final report. These results are also used in future stock assessments and harvest strategies. This will bring benefits to recreational fishing and ensure WA fisheries are managed sustainably so there are fish for the future.