Response to OMB questions on ISRO inland lakes creel census design:
1. Are the 1997 and 2008 survey instruments identical?
Several questions are the same. Information on trip dates, fishing pressure per water body, and number and size of species caught and kept are identical to allow for qualitative comparison with the 1997 survey results. Questions regarding angler satisfaction were eliminated in the 2008 survey because the low response rate for this type of creel census does not supply enough information to evaluate overall angler satisfaction, and coordination with the 1997 survey designer indicated that the questions were ancillary to the larger goal: characterization of fish communities in inland lakes at Isle Royale. Questions in the 2008 survey that did not appear in the 1997 survey focus on an exotic species not present in 1997: spiny water flea (Bythotrephes longimanus). The purpose of including these questions is to gain insights into whether or not public outreach by the park to prevent the spread of this species to inland lakes is reaching a specific group: inland lakes anglers. It is also to determine if those who know about spiny water flea have observed these invertebrates in any of the inland lakes that they visited.
2. Are the data going to be used in any modeling work?
No. The data will provide a qualitative source of information about inland lakes’ fish communities.
3. What statistics will be generated with the study?
This is a qualitative survey; no statistical analysis will occur. Fish species presence in specific lakes, fishing pressure, and angler observations about presence of spiny water flea, collected via a qualitative creel census, provides raw data that may help the park determine on which lakes a quantitative creel census and/or biological sampling should focus if funds are available in the future. Qualitative data collection in this form is also the only fiscally feasible method available for obtaining any information on the park’s inland lakes fish populations at this time.
4. Was there a problem with item non-response in the 1997 survey?
No. Those who returned the survey forms had responded to the items on the survey form.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | Response to OMB questions on ISRO inland lakes creel census design: |
| Author | jeanbattle |
| Last Modified By | mmcbride |
| File Modified | 2008-07-15 |
| File Created | 2008-07-15 |