Recreational Angler Survey of Sea Turtle Interactions

NOAA Fisheries proposes to extend an information collection designed to assess hook and line interactions between recreational anglers at shore-based fishing locations, including piers, and sea turtles. The collection comprises an Angler Intercept Survey, Fishing Site Characterization Form, Survey Cover Sheet, and Sea Turtle Incidental Capture Form. The Angler Intercept Survey will be administered at shore-based fishing locations along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts to approximately 20,000 recreational fishermen. The respondents will be verbally asked about their fishing practices and observations of sea turtles, and the interviewer will record their answers. The survey will assess the feasibility of an intercept survey for this purpose (response rates and data collection). The Fishing Site Characterization Form will be completed by the survey administrator once at each fishing location to collect information on the structure and operation. The survey administrator will complete the Site Characterization during each survey period, recording information on environmental conditions and number of anglers, lines in the water, and surveys completed. The Sea Turtle Incidental Capture Form will be completed by a Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network participant when a turtle is incidentally captured, regardless of whether the capture occurs during a survey period, to collect information on the specific interaction with fishing gear. This information is necessary to compare to the angler survey data to identify if certain factors or fishing practices influence interaction rates. Minor revisions were made to the Sea Turtle Incidental Capture Form to eliminate duplication with other data collection efforts.

The latest form for Recreational Angler Survey of Sea Turtle Interactions expires 2026-04-30 and can be found here.

Angler Intercept Survey

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Natural Resources - Conservation, Marine and Land Management

Review document collections for all forms, instructions, and supporting documents - including paper/printable forms.