Meet the technicians who survey anglers

Sixteen Marine Recreational Information Program field interviewers can be spotted out and about at any of 214 active angling sites along the coast, in all kinds of weather, on any day of the week, and during any time of the day or night.

The Marine Recreational Information Program houses the Access Point Angler Intercept Survey, developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA-Fisheries) and administered by the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program.

The purpose of the Access Point Angler Intercept Survey is to target saltwater recreational anglers to obtain fishing effort, catch, and participation information via interviews conducted at public boat ramps, marinas, bridges, beaches, banks, causeways, jetties, docks, and piers. More specifically, the interview interactions include gathering information regarding weights and measurements of catches, catch discard information, fishing effort, target species, fishing locations, mode, and vessel information as well as whether they fished near an artificial reef, angler residency information, mail preference for surveys, demographics, and contact information. Beginning in January, the program transitioned from using paper survey forms to collecting data via electronic tablets.

In addition to interviewing anglers, Marine Recreational Information Program staff participate in various data collection programs throughout the year. For example, when there is a red snapper season, they assist in carcass and catch card collections. They also pick up cards for the Highly Migratory Species census card program.

All staff are responsible for conducting dockside validations of the self-reported trip data collected via the For-hire Survey to capture recreational data on for-hire, charter, and guide fisheries. Staff also conduct at-sea biological sampling aboard headboats to collect data on catch and measure discarded fish.

Sampling areas are divided into three regions, with each region having a crew leader to assist the Access Point Angler Intercept Survey State Coordinator based in the Washington Regional Office. One interviewer in each region is responsible for conducting For-Hire Survey calls to charter boat captains or vessel owners of vessels selected to participate in the survey to determine their fishing effort in the previous week.
 

Ann Pierce oversees and coordinates activities for five interviewers in the northern crew. They cover Currituck, Dare, and Hyde counties. Ann has been interviewing anglers as part of the Marine Recreational Information Program since 2009. Prior to that, she worked as a federal fishery observer in Dare County, spent eight seasons with the Hatteras flounder pound net fishermen as a NOAA contractor in Beaufort, , and manned the N.C. Sea Grant office on Roanoke Island for many years. A native of eastern North Carolina, she majored in biology at a women's college in Virginia and studied zoology as a graduate student in Florida. She spent a large portion of her adult life overseas studying chimpanzees and gorillas in the wild, hiking, running rivers, and exploring remote areas and wildlife. Ann loves traveling, camping, meeting new people from diverse backgrounds, nature-based study, and the peace, quiet, and beauty of the protected waterways and national and state protected lands.

Brandon Rice leads a crew of six in the Morehead City area, covering Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Onslow, and Pamlico counties. Brandon first began working with Division of Marine Fisheries on a Marine Recreational Information Program pilot project in 2010. When that project completed, he was hired for the Central Southern Management Area survey in 2011. He worked that survey until transitioning full time to the Marine Recreational Information Program in 2013. He continues to assist the Central Southern Management Area survey each year for several months during shad season and then returns to Marine Recreational Information Program for the remainder of the year. Brandon was born and raised in eastern North Carolina and holds an Associates of Applied Science degree in Environmental Science from Pamlico Community College. In his spare time, he enjoys inshore fishing with his wife and son on their boat. He also enjoys waterfowl hunting.

Dennis Trowell, leader of the southern crew, works with three other staff in Brunswick, New Hanover, Pender, and part of Onslow counties. Dennis has been with the division since November 1997. He first began working on a project tagging juvenile red drum in Manteo where he also was an observer on commercial gill net boats. He then moved to Morehead City to work with shellfish mapping for four years before moving into the field interviewer position with the Marine Recreational Information Program. Dennis grew up in southeastern Georgia, then moved to the Wilmington area and became an avid North Carolina recreational saltwater fisherman. He holds an Associates of Applied Science degree in Marine Technology from Cape Fear Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from The University of North Carolina at Wilmington. When he’s not working, Dennis enjoys both inshore and offshore fishing along the Carolina coast as well as deer and duck hunting.

In addition to Marine Recreational Information Program, the division conducts angler intercept surveys throughout the Central Southern Management Area. This survey is known as the anadromous creel survey and provides estimates of catch and effort by recreational fishing anglers targeting striped bass and shad species. Field technicians conducting these surveys interview anglers at more than 50 boating access points along the upper estuarine portions of the Tar-Pamlico, Pungo, Neuse, Trent, and Cape Fear rivers. Information collected include target species, weights and measurements of catches, discard information, fishing method, location and trip details, and angler demographics.
 

The Central Southern Management Area anadromous creel survey employs up to eight field technicians throughout the year and divides these technicians among the upper, middle, and lower sections of each river system. Gabriel "Gabe" Albanese is one of these technicians and he interviews recreational fishing anglers about their daily catch along the lower Tar-Pamlico River in Washington. Gabe is a native of Greenville and has worked as a field technician for more than three years. What Gabe loves most about his job is being outside near the water and hearing angler fishing stories, including seeing their epic big catch videos. In his spare time, Gabe plays the drums, spends time with his two amazing daughters, and is an avid volunteer for many programs that support the local community. If you ever see Gabe at the boat ramp, stop by and speak with him. He would love to talk with you!