Adjusting for undercoverage of access‐points in creel surveys with fewer overflights

• Published in: Biometrics 2015-12, Vol.71 (4), p.1050-1059
• Main Authors: Béliveau, Audrey, Lockhart, Richard A, Schwarz, Carl J, Arndt, Steven K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aerial-access; Animals; biometry; Biometry - methods; British Columbia; Canada; Computer Simulation; Conservation of Natural Resources - statistics & numerical data; cost effectiveness; Creel survey; DISCUSSION PAPER; Economic models; fisheries; Fisheries - statistics & numerical data; Fisheries management; Fishes; Kootenay Lake; Lakes; Models, Statistical; Optimal allocation; Recreation; sport fishing; surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires; Two-phase; Undercoverage
• ISSN: 0006-341X; 1541-0420
• DOI: 10.1111/biom.12335

Creel surveys are used in recreational fisheries to estimate angling effort, catch, and harvest. Aerial‐access creel surveys rely on two components: (1) a ground component in which fishing parties returning from their trips are interviewed at some access‐points of the fishery; (2) an aerial component in which the number of fishing parties is counted. A common practice is to sample fewer aerial survey days than ground survey days. This is thought by practitioners to reduce the cost of the survey, but there is a lack of sound statistical methodology for this case. In this article, we propose various estimation methods to handle this situation and evaluate their asymptotic properties from a design‐based perspective. We also propose formulas for the optimal allocation of the effort between the ground and the aerial portion of the survey, for given costs and budget. A simulation study investigates the performance of the estimators. Finally, we apply our methods to data from an annual Kootenay Lake survey (Canada).