Report of the ICES Working Group on Recreational Fisheries Surveys (WGRFS)

The ICES Working Group on Recreational Fishing Surveys (WGRFS) role is to provide recreational fishery data for stock assessment and advice, that satisfies the ICES Quality Assurance Framework and requirements of the EU Data Collection Framework (DCF). As such, the WGRFS is a forum for the planning and coordination of recreational fisheries data collection and analysis, for sharing knowledge, and discussing new ideas. In 2013, 17 scientists from 13 countries attended the meeting with the aim of sharing current national surveys methods and estimates, reviewing the use of recreational fishing data in stock assessments, developing a tool to assess the quality of recreational fishing surveys, providing guidance on the development of requirements for the Multi-Annual Data Collection Programme (DC-MAP), and production of agreed definitions for recreational fishing surveys.