FAQ | Reef Fish Effort

As a participating angler you get $200 in gift cards to an eligible fishing or retail store of your choosing. Common options include: Bass Pro, Cabela's, West Marine, Academy, and Amazon. You pick the store and we will mail (or email) $100 to you upon completing your first GPS monitored trip. The second $100 is sent after 12 months of monitoring with the device during at least two fishing trips.

Beyond the $200 that could go towards new fishing gear, your participation helps improve how recreational fishing effort is measured in the Gulf of America. Current survey methods can misrepresent private anglers, which can influence season lengths and management decisions.

By contributing real-world movement data, you help ensure private recreational fishermen are more accurately represented in federal fisheries management. Better data leads to fairer, more informed decisions.

You’re helping build a system that reflects how anglers actually fish.

This study is not the same as Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) that are required for certain commercial fisheries for compliance and enforcement. Participation in this study is completely voluntary and is for research purposes only.

The GPS device we use records vessel movement to help scientists better estimate how much recreational reef fish fishing activity is occurring. It does not report to enforcement agencies or monitor compliance. We keep individual vessel tracks confidential and do not publish them.

By using vessel location data, researchers can better distinguish offshore reef fishing from other types of boating activity and more accurately estimate how many private boats are actively fishing without having to survey anglers.

Federal scientists, including NOAA, have acknowledged that all survey-based methods have limitations and potential sources of bias. Recreational fishing organizations and state partners have also called for additional tools to help validate and improve effort estimates.

This study provides an independent, research-based approach that can help “ground-truth” or validate existing survey methods using real-world vessel movement patterns. Although it does not directly change regulations, it can improve the data used to inform them.

Yes. The findings from this study will be analyzed and shared publicly through reports, presentations, and peer-reviewed publications, but individual vessel data or personal data will never be published or shared.

We are committed to transparency and will provide participating anglers with updates on study progress and outcomes. Participants will receive summaries of key findings so you can see how your involvement contributed to improving recreational fishing data in the Gulf.

Frequently asked questions

When does the program start?

When and how do I get paid?

What's in it for me besides $200?

How is this different from VMS?

Can I view my own location data?

How will this change recreational fishing estimates?

Are you working for regulators?

I want to learn more about how recreational fishing effort is estimated and some of the biases with current methods?

Will the results be published?

How is this project funded?

Who can I contact if I have any questions or concerns?

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