332 
Fishery Bulletin 107(3) 
Equal catchability and effort were assumed because 
anglers made most recaptures and angler effort per 
mile of coastline was similar. This assumption allowed 
us to use a simpler model than the complex model of 
Hilborn (1990), which assumed unequal capture prob- 
abilities. 
To test whether the recapture rate in the first sum- 
mer after tagging was explained by patterns of fishing 
effort, data from the Marine Recreational Fisheries 
A 
(Pe) 
B 
Figure 2 
Structure of two random models used to compare observed 
recaptures of striped bass ( Morone saxatilis) to what might 
be expected if movements into and out of the release areas 
were random. For all, p e was the weekly probability of a 
striped bass remaining in a patch and 1 —p e is the weekly 
probability of leaving. (A) In random model 1 (RM-1), the 
probability of leaving the ocean patch is 0.5 for each weekly 
time step. The probability of leaving the other two patches 
is the same but can differ from 0.5. In the comparison of 
the model output to recaptures, the target area may have 
represented either the Great Marsh or Massachusetts coast. 
(B) In random model 2 (RM-2), the complex structure repre- 
sented by the Great Marsh is diagrammed: A 1 =Merrimack; 
A 2 =Parker; A 3 =Rowley (target); A 4 =Ipswich; A 5 =Essex. 
In RM-2, the probability of remaining in all patches is p e . 
The probability of leaving A 2 A 3 A 4 A 5 and A 0 is l-p e . The 
probability of leaving A 2 for Plum Island Sound (PIS) or the 
ocean is (l-p e )/2). The probability of leaving PIS for any 
other location is (l-p e )/5). The probability of leaving the 
ocean for one of the four neighboring patches is (0.5/4). 
Statistics Survey were used. 1 Effort data were obtained 
for five bimonthly periods (March- April, May- June, 
July-August, September-October, November-December) 
in 1999 and 2000, the two years that fish were tagged. 
For the Coastal Household Telephone Survey (CHTS), 
fishing effort data were obtained from shore and pri- 
vate-boat anglers who live in coastal counties. Correc- 
tion factors, derived from an intercept survey, were used 
to account for trips taken by noncoastal residents, out- 
of-state anglers, and anglers who live in households 
without telephones. Data collection occurred during a 
two-week period at the end of each two-month sample 
period. For the CHTS, a computer-assisted, random 
digit dialing (RDD) approach was used to contact 
full-time residential households who were screened 
to determine if any household members participated 
in marine recreational fishing during the previous 
two months. Each active angler was asked to recall 
the number of saltwater fishing trips that were taken 
during the bimonthly period, as well as asked to 
provide details about each trip. Institutional hous- 
ing, businesses, wireless phones, and pay phones 
were excluded from the survey. Within each state, i 
samples were allocated among coastal counties in 
proportion to household populations. For each coastal 
county, data from the CHTS were used to estimate 
the average number of trips per household and then 
expanded by the county household population to esti- 
mate total trips. County estimates were summed and 
then expanded by intercept survey adjustment factors 
to produce state-level effort estimates. Private-boat 
and shore-angler modes for trips directed towards 
striped bass were combined for each New England 
state (Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, and Connecticut). To compare effort expended 
for striped bass across states, these effort estimates 
were divided by km of shoreline. 2 To assess whether 
recaptures in Massachusetts mirrored general trends 
in fishing effort, the calendar dates when striped 
bass were recaptured in the Great Marsh and Mas- 
sachusetts were compared to the timing of fishing 
effort. To test whether striped bass were recaptured 
in Massachusetts in summer, because fishing effort 
did not exist elsewhere in New England, bimonthly 
patterns of recaptures were related to summer effort 
scaled by coastline for all five New England states by 
using a Spearman correlation. 
Results 
Striped bass recaptures were distributed along the 
Atlantic Ocean coast from Maine to the Chesapeake 
1 Van Voorhees, David. Personal commun. 2000. National 
Marine Fisheries Service, Fisheries Statistics Division, 
Silver Spring, MD. 
2 Millhouser, W. C., J. McDonough, J. P. Tolson. 1998. Per- 
sonal Commun. Report to National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, Managing Coastal Resources. 1315 East 
West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. 
