NEWS NOTES ON SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES  Marine Recreation  The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.2017. Revi...

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NEWS NOTES ON SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES  Marine Recreation  The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.2017. Review of the Marine Recreational Information Program . Washington, DC: TheNational Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/24640. ; https://www.nap.edu/download/24640 ; This study has a special relationship to sustainability, in that the majority of economic benefits that accrue from expenditures that increase water quality are due to the resulting increased economic activity in recreation. Many millions of dollars are involved.   The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration is responsible for collecting information on marinerecreational angling. It does so principally through the Marine Recreational InformationProgram (MRIP), a survey program that consists of an in-person surveyat fishing access sites and a mail survey, in addition to other complementaryor alternative surveys. Data collected from anglers through the MRIP supplyfisheries managers with essential information for assessing fish stocks. In 2006,the National Research Council (NRC; now referred to as the National Academiesof Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, or “the National Academies”) providedan evaluation of the MRIP’s predecessor, the Marine Recreational FisheriesStatistics Survey (MRFSS). That review, Review of Recreational Fisheries Survey Methods, presented conclusions and recommendations in six categories: samplingissues, statistical estimation issues, human dimensions, program management andsupport, communication and outreach, and general recommendations.  After spending nearly a decade addressing the recommendations, NMFSrequested another evaluation of its modified survey program (MRIP). This report,the result of that evaluation, serves as a 10-year progress report. The committee met on four occasions, in Washington, DC; Charleston, South Carolina; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Irvine, California. At each meeting, the committee heard from state and federal employees as well as regional stakeholders. The committee also received written input from stakeholders during the study process. The resulting report recognizes the impressive progress that NMFS has made, including major improvements in the statistical soundness of its survey designs. It also highlights some remaining challenges, and provides recommendations for addressing them. This report principally focuses on the Fishing Effort Review of the Marine Recreational Information Program Survey (FES) and the Access Point Angler Intercept Survey (APAIS) that form the backbone of the MRIP, but recognizes the role that other survey programs play in the MRIP and discusses them as they relate to coordination, certification, continuity, and other important aspects of the MRIP.  This study will also be linked on the 2017 Reports and Publications Page of the Sustainable Water Resources Site at https://sites.google.com/site/sustainablewaterresources/ ">https://sites.google.com/site/sustainablewaterresources/ ; Tim SmithSustainable Water Resources CoordinatorGovernment Web Site, https://acwi.gov/Sustainable Water Resources Site, https://sites.google.com/site/sustainablewaterresources/ ">https://sites.google.com/site/sustainablewaterresources/ ;