boats or transit boats were particularly difficult to assess 
owing to concealment by the cabin structure. Number, 
mobility, and distribution of the boats added to the dif- 
ficulty. The effort could usually be classified rapidly and 
accurately by observing the fishing gear, activity of in- 
dividuals on the boats, movement of the boat, and 
awareness of the fisheries in the subareas. Close ap- 
proach and prolonged observation was necessary in cases 
where an unusual activity was observed or when a single 
boat was used for more than one fishery. 
The effort on fixed platforms also presented problems 
of classification and assessment. Activity on those plat- 
forms was rarely static. Fishermen often changed 
locations and methods of fishing, left their gear unat- 
tended, fished only when fish were sighted, and engaged 
in two or more fisheries simultaneously. Presence of a 
large number of persons not fishing further complicated 
the problem. To minimize the error of assessment, the 
survey was done in the shortest possible time consistent 
with good judgment. When the effort was highly concen- 
trated, a total count of all persons on the platform was 
obtained, followed by a count of the fishermen by fishery 
and method. Persons moving about, entering or leaving 
with fishing gear in possession, were classified as fisher- 
men. Some error in classification undoubtedly resulted. 
For example, handlines used by anglers may have ap- 
peared identical to the lines used by crabbers; a fish 
stringer may have appeared as either; a crab trap may 
have been set and retrieved by rod and reel; and several 
persons may have shared fishing equipment. 
Snorkel and scuba divers engage in diverse 
recreational activity. In the coastal area it is a popular 
method of fishing for finfish. Because time or circum- 
stance did not permit personal interviews, they were ar- 
bitrarily included in the count of persons using water as 
the platform in the finfish fishery. In St. Andrew Bay, 
snorkel and scuba gear are frequently used by 
recreational and commercial fishermen in their search 
for scallops. The fishery, however, was easily identified, 
and the method of gathering scallops was the same as 
used by others, i.e., hand or dip net. 
METHODS OF ESTIMATING EFFORT 
Average Daily Instantaneous Effort 
Estimates of the average daily instantaneous fishing 
effort and boating activity were derived by dividing the 
number of monthly surveys into the sum of the instan- 
taneous counts or estimates in all subareas each month. 
Estimated averages were calculated for weekdays and 
weekend-days each month by fishery, platform, method 
of fishing, and type of boat within each major area. 
In those instances when it was necessary to estimate 
the number of fishermen, persons, or occupants on boats 
in a subarea the following formula was used: 
where t = estimated number 
A = number of fishermen, persons, or occupants 
in sample 
B= number of boats in sample 
C= total number of boats. 
No attempt was made to count or estimate the number 
of fishermen on party boats (also called head boats) as 
those boats did not fish in the study area. Fishermen on 
private boats when still or cast fishing were identified 
and counted separately from the total number of per- 
sons on board. All persons on trolling boats were counted 
as fishermen. The distinction between methods of fishing 
is that still and cast fishing is usually an individual ef- 
fort, and trolling is often a collective effort. All persons © 
on commercial boats, excluding party boats, also were 
counted as fishermen. Boats were considered the prin- 
cipal platform when used to reach a secondary platform 
such. as a bridge or shore. When used for snorkeling or 
scuba diving for finfish, water was considered the prin- 
cipal platform. Persons snorkeling or scuba diving from 
boats often could not be distinguished from those enter- 
ing the water from shore. 
The estimates of effort were summarized for all 
stationary platforms, and grouped into three categories 
as follows: 1) extension (bridge, pier, dock, jetty); 2) 
shoreline (shore, abutment, seawall); and 3) water 
(wade, swim). 
Total Daytime Angling Effort 
Estimates of the maximum, minimum, and average 
number of anglers for the 0800-1630 period were derived 
from expanded average daily instantaneous numbers. 
The expansion factors used for anglers and persons on 
private and charter boats were taken from the results of a 
survey of sport fishing in Virginia by Richard (1962). In 
that survey, instantaneous counts were made at 2-h in- 
tervals from a single observation point and the corrected 
totals from dockside interviews. Maximum and mini- 
mum variations in the instantaneous counts of private 
boats yielded corrected total counts when expanded by 
factors of 2.79 and 1.83, respectively. The average expan- 
sion factor was 2.31. For charter boats the expansion fac- 
tors were 2.18 for maximum estimation, 1.52 for mini- 
mum estimation, and 1.80 for average estimation. 
Estimates of daytime angling effort on fixed platforms 
were computed by methods analagous to private and 
charter boats. Interval counts and interviews were made 
at three locations in the St. Andrew Bay system and 
coastal waters at 2-h intervals twice monthly. Varia- 
tions in angler effort are shown in Table 1. Since the 
average fishing time on those platforms was less than 2h, 
those anglers who arrived after a surveyor’s visit and left 
before the surveyor’s next visit were not counted. Thus, 
the estimated total number of anglers exceeded the sum 
of interval counts. The estimated total was computed by 
the method of Moyle and Franklin (1957). The expan- 
sion factors derived from the instantaneous counts and 
