Our recreational fisheries research falls into the following sub-themes: 

Angler Surveys and Research

• We conduct surveys of Alaska saltwater anglers that collect information about Alaska fishing trips, including where anglers fished, what they fished for, what they spent on their trips, and their fishing trip preferences.  These data are used to build models of recreational fishing behavior to measure economic values for marine recreational fishing and to evaluate how those values and angler behavior are affected in the face of changing fishery, economic, or ecological conditions.  
• Contact: dan.lew@noaa.gov 

Charter Business Surveys and Research 

• We collect and analyze data from Alaska charter recreational fishing businesses to help inform decision-making affecting the sector.  This includes providing baseline information about its composition and activities and understanding its contributions to the economy and the economic effects from changes in the regulatory landscape or ecosystem.
• Contact: dan.lew@noaa.gov 

Regional Economic Impact Modeling of Recreational Fisheries

• We use computable general equilibrium (CGE), social accounting matrix (SAM), and other regional economic models to assess the contribution of marine recreational fisheries on the economy and to measure the economic impact of management actions, environmental changes, or other changes on the sector.
• Contact:  chang.seung@noaa.gov 

Bioeconomics of Recreational Halibut

• We estimate a recreation demand model for resident and non-resident anglers to estimate preferences for salmon and halibut. We integrate these models with biological data to predict the impact to angler welfare and the Pacific halibut stock from a change in the recreational size limits for Pacific halibut in southeast and southcentral Alaska. Future iterations of this model will consider changes in bag limits, climate change, and other exogenous factors that impact anglers targeting Pacific halibut and the Pacific halibut stock. 
• Contact: russel.a.dame@noaa.gov 

Community Recreational Fishing Engagement and Reliance Indices

• Recreational fishing is important to Alaska’s economy. Unlike other regions of the U.S., The Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) does not provide estimate of recreational fishing activity in Alaska as these are largely already collected by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G). Therefore, the estimates of recreational engagement and reliance are estimated separately for Alaska communities using slightly different data, but with the same general interpretation of the indices as the other regions. For more information, see NMFS Social Indicators for Coastal Communities and the Indicator Map.
• Contact: stephen.kasperski@noaa.gov