Recreational fisheries, where rod and line angler fishing is primarily leisure-driven, are socially and economically important. Yet, despite the established benefits provided by inland fisheries, effective fisheries management is frequently hindered by data limitations. Having access to creel and angler surveys across multiple states that account for spaciotemporal differences could aid managers across the United States in drawing comparisons, extrapolating trends, and identifying regional patterns and processes

In a new article in Fisheries Magazine, National CASC researchers and co-authors address the clear need for a single, standardized repository for inland creel and other angler survey data from across the nation, by creating the U.S. Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat), as a first-of-its-kind, publicly available national database of angler-survey data that establishes a baseline of national inland recreational fishing metrics. CreelCat contains metrics related to angler catch, harvest, effort, preferences, and demographics from over 40 states as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. This online database allows users to access the entire dataset, subset based on custom filters, and create a variety of visualizations including maps and plots according to user-defined inputs and specifications.

The authors highlight CreelCat’s research and management implications and propose a perpetuity protocol for CreelCat in order to assure its accessibility and transparency, while inviting agencies, researchers, and other users to apply CreelCat for their own particular needs.

This work is supported by the National CASC project, “The U.S. Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat): A Database and Interactive Tool for Inland Fisheries Management and Research”.