Justification for change

JUSTIFICATION FOR CHANGE

MRIP FISHING EFFORT SURVEY

OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-0652

The MRIP Fishing Effort Survey (FES) was designed to be a more accurate and cost effective alternative to the Coastal Household Telephone Survey (CHTS, OMB Control No. 0648-0652), the methodology historically used to collect recreational fishing effort data. We have completed a series of pilot studies testing design alternatives and examining potential sources of error in the FES design. Specifically, we have examined the impact of cash incentives and different versions of the survey instrument on survey response and survey measures and assessed the potential for bias resulting from nonresponse and under-coverage. These studies have resulted in improvements to the FES design and will help explain any observed differences between CHTS and FES estimates as we transition to the new design. We propose a supplemental information collection, another Validation Follow-Up Study that will further assess sources of error, specifically measurement error, in the FES design. The information collection will result in further improvements to the FES design and is critical for anticipating and explaining the impacts of transitioning from the CHTS to the FES.

The Validation Follow-up Study will consist of a follow-up web survey of FES respondents to ensure that reported information is accurate and that respondents fully understand the survey questions and instructions. This survey will coincide with the wave 4, 2016 Specifically, the validation study will confirm the number of household residents that fished during the reference wave, the number of trips by fishing mode (private boat fishing and shore fishing) taken by each household resident, and confirm that reported trips are within the scope of the survey (e.g. saltwater fishing trips within the study state). Results from the Validation Study will identify potential reporting error in the FES by quantifying the extent to which FES respondents provide accurate responses. This information will identify potential improvements to the FES questionnaire and instructions and may be used to adjust FES estimates to account for measurement error.

The anticipated burden for this request is approximately 280 responses¹ and 70 hours. We will accommodate this additional burden by uniformly reducing FES sampling levels among all states and reference waves such that there will be no net increase in overall annual burden. FES sampling will be reduced by 0.02% overall, or fewer than 3 respondents per state and wave to accommodate the Validation Follow-Up Study.

1 Respondents to the Validation Follow-Up Study previously responded to the FES.