Recreational fishing catch and effort in Everglades National Park, 1980-2025, data package
Schrandt MN , Bauman L , Leavitt H , Rehage J , Strickland B , Dean T . 2026. Recreational fishing catch and effort in Everglades National Park, 1980-2025, data package. National Park Service. Fort Collins CO https://doi.org/10.57830/2318429
Recreational fishing is one of the most popular outdoor activities in Everglades National Park (ENP), located in south Florida, USA. Because anglers fishing in ENP are allowed to harvest their catch if they abide by applicable regulations, monitoring the status of fish populations is important for resource management. Therefore, ENP has used a recreational fishing survey to track marine and estuarine fish populations based on what anglers are catching. Upon anglers' return from marine and estuarine fishing activities, a subset of anglers is interviewed by park-affiliated staff at boat ramps either within or near the park. These interviews obtain information about the catch and the effort (i.e., time spent fishing and number of people fishing) expended to obtain that catch. In addition to the angler survey, ENP staff have also counted the number of boat trailers parked within the park to provide additional insights into potential fishing effort. This dataset presents just over 45 years (January 1980 – April 2025) of catch and effort information for recreational fishing activities within ENP boundaries. Over 270,000 surveys, representing over 4 million individual fish reported, are presented in the dataset. This dataset can be used to understand interannual trends in fish populations and assemblages. If coupled with environmental data, it may provide valuable information regarding fish-environment interactions for researchers and managers of ENP, and other coastal marine and estuarine habitats.
- Type
- Data Package
- Authors
- Schrandt, Meagan; Bauman, Laura; Leavitt, Herbert; Rehage, Jennifer; Strickland, Bradley; Dean, Tylan
- Date of Issue
- 2026-06-24
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.57830/2318429
- Units
- EVER
- Keywords
- access point angler intercept survey, creel, Everglades National Park, fishing effort, harvested fish, long-term monitoring, National Park Service, recreational fishing, recreational fishing catch, South Florida Natural Resources Center
- License
- Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal