BATON ROUGE- NOAA Fisheries has announced the certification of the Louisiana Recreational Creel survey design.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries uses LA Creel as an alternative general survey to estimate recreational fishing catch and effort, or number of anglers trips, according to the LDWF. It was designed to provide catch estimates for offshore fisheries, that are more precise than the Marine Recreational Information Program general survey estimates.

Now that the LA Creel survey design has been certified, it is eligible for federal funding to support ongoing improvements and implementation. LA Creel is one of several Gulf of Mexico surveys that has been developed by the states with technical support from the MRIP.