CNMI Boat-based Creel Survey

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Creel surveys are operated by the Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) and are only on the island of Saipan. Creel surveys consist of 2 major sub-surveys, one to identify the level of fishing participation for each fishing method used in the Territory, and one to determine the catch rate, species composition, and sizes of fish (and invertebrates) for each fishing method and fishing sector. Boat-based surveys are access-point surveys and include all major and some minor ports and marinas where fishing boats launch or are berthed. Although some data may exist from versions of the surveys done back in the 1980s-1990s, due to data quality issues and lack of resources, the surveys were terminated for a number of years and the earlier data may not be very useful if it exists in computerized form. It is uncertain if the earlier data was converted to newer data systems or not. Due to limited resources, it was re-initiated for day-time only sampling in 2001 and then expanded to cover the full day in about 2005. It includes specialized participation and interview surveys as with other surveys and collects all the similar effort and catch parameters as other surveys. All fishing is done from relatively small boats and occurs relatively close to the islands. This is true for all fishing in all 4 of the island areas with the exception of the longline fisheries. These data are considered confidential.

[
  "https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/pifsc/dmp/pdf/5628.pdf"
]