What is the Catch Card Project?
We are collecting information via a catch card about all the fish you catch and release today. This is part of a project to test if being given a tool to track fish released helps to improve recreational data and improve management of key species.
Why Should I Participate?
Your responses provide a unique opportunity to provide depth and length of released fish, which are both critical when determining discard mortality for stock assessments. Even if you don’t release any fish on this trip, each card returned helps us better understand our fish populations!
Quick Guide to the Card
Below is an example of a completed catch card as well as an example of a simplified approach to fill in fish lengths more quickly. If you have multiple rows for a single species, you can indicate that with an arrow drawn down through applicable lines to correspond with the number of fish released for that species.
Measuring Fish Correctly
- Lay the fish flat on its side on a hard surface.
- Place the tape beside or under (not over) the fish so it stays straight.
- Pinch the tail lobes and read the total length to the nearest quarter inch, rounding up.
Best Fishing Practices
There is an abundance of information online with tips and tricks to increase survival rate when returning fish to the water. Here are several links with more information on fishing best practices:
- FL Sea Grant - https://www.flseagrant.org/fisheries/catch-and-release-fishing/
- Return ‘Em Right - https://returnemright.org/
- FishSmart - http://www.fishsmart.org/
- ReleaSense - https://www.releasense.org/
- SAFMC Release https://safmc.net/citizen-science/safmc-release/
Detailed Instructions
Catch cards should be handed to an APAIS interviewer if on-site at the end of your fishing trip; however, if an interviewer is not on site, the pre-paid postage on the backside of the catch card can be used to drop off cards at any USPS location or can be sent directly to the designated state representative by taking a clear picture of the full card and sending it to the email address at the bottom of the card.
