APAIS screening script

OMB Control No. 0648-xxxx

Expiration Date: xx/xx/20xx

Screening Questionnaire for survey eligibility

Hello, my name is and I represent (CONTRACTOR NAME). We are conducting a survey of marine recreational anglers for the National Marine Fisheries Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce. I'd like to ask you a few questions about your fishing.

1. Was the primary purpose of your trip today for recreation; that is, for fun and relaxation, or was it to provide income either from the sale of fish or from the sale of the fishing opportunity?

Recreation → Continue

To provide income → Thank angler and end interview, angler not eligible

2. Were you saltwater fishing today? By saltwater fishing, I mean fishing in oceans, sounds or bays, or in brackish portions of rivers.

Yes → Continue (if in Maine, ask 2a)

No → Thank angler and end interview, angler not eligible

2a. (MAINE ONLY) Was the majority of your fishing in Canadian waters?

Yes → Thank angler and end interview, angler not eligible

No → Continue

3. Were you fishing for finfish today?

Yes → Continue with question 4

No → Continue with question 3a

3a. Did you catch any finfish today?

Yes → Continue

No → Thank angler and end interview, angler not eligible

4. Have you completed your saltwater fishing today (all modes/sites except Beach/Bank Shore sites – see Incomplete Trip Interviewing)?

Yes → Angler is eligible, start main questionnaire

No → Continue

5. Will you still be fishing from a (SPECIFY MODE, e.g. your boat; shore)?

Same mode → Thank angler and end interview, angler not eligible

Different mode → Angler is eligible, start main questionnaire

Screening Question Rationale

Q1 This question is necessary to determine whether the angler meets the "recreational" criteria. A "to provide income" response to the question would end the screening -- the angler is not a recreational angler. A "recreation" response to Item 1 would lead to Item 2. Interviewers must ask about the original intent for the particular trip taken that day, regardless of the type of fishing license possessed. An angler may sell his catch for expenses incurred even though his primary purpose was recreation. This type angler would be eligible for the APAIS.

Q2 This question is to verify the angler was fishing in saltwater. An angler is a saltwater angler if he/she thinks he/she is a saltwater angler. At sites where both freshwater and saltwater fishing could be accessed (e.g. river boat ramp sites), the interviewer must ask each angler whether they were freshwater or saltwater fishing. Anglers who say they were freshwater fishing are not eligible for the survey and should not be interviewed.

Q2a. In northern areas of Maine, if an interviewer has reason to believe that an angler may have spent time fishing outside of United States waters (boat anglers), the interviewer should also ask if the angler fished in Canadian waters. If the majority of his/her effort was not in United States' waters, the angler is not eligible for an interview and the screening should be terminated.

Q3 This question is to verify the fishing trip targeted finfish, that is, the fishing trip was directed at fish with fins. Note that a person does not have to have caught a finfish to participate; he/she must only have been fishing for finfish.

Q3a Shell fishermen (or any invertebrate target such as octopus, squid, etc.) may have landed finfish although that was not the primary target. These shell fishermen are eligible if one or more finfish were incidentally landed.

Q4 All saltwater anglers are asked whether they have completed their fishing for the day. If the response is “yes,” the angler is eligible for the survey and the interviewer should start the main Intercept Questionnaire.

Q5 Anglers are not eligible for this survey if they are planning to continue fishing from the same mode later in the day, whether they plan on fishing from the intercept site or some other location. Separate modes of recreational fishing so are considered separate fishing trips, even if more than one mode of fishing occurred on the same day.