California recreational abalone fishery catch and effort estimates for 2002 from a combined report card and telephone survey

Total catch and effort were estimated for the 2002 California recreational abalone fishery, using a combination of returned report card data complimented by a telephone survey to estimate the contribution of unreturned report cards. There were 35,146 cards purchased for fishing year 2002. Abalone catch and effort were estimated at 264,130 (95% Cl +/- 16,823) abalone and 100,473 (95% Cl +/- 6,822) picker days. Catch per unit of effort averaged 2.63 abalone per picker day and 8.54 abalone per picker year. Report cards revealed that the Fort Ross area in Sonoma County and Van Damme State Park in Mendocino County provided the most abalone for pickers in 2002. Sonoma and Mendocino counties contributed almost 25% of abalone card purchasers,with 6 northern California counties accounting for over 50% of the purchasers. Telephone survey data revealed the mean number of abalone trips in 2002 as 3.1, with the mean age of pickers as 44 years. Approximately 58% of the telephone surveyed pickers accurately recalled their number of effort days and abalone taken. On average, pickers who returned their abalone report cards picked more days and took more abalone than those who did not return their cards.