West Coast Groundfish Observer Program Manual, Part2 - NOAA

CHAPTER 5
• Poles - Vessels fishing with poles (rod and reel)
generally fish multiple poles at once and gear is
retrieved and set numerous times in a rapid fashion.
The rate at which gear is retrieved and reset can
make it extremely difficult to keep an accurate count
of the total number of hooks set. If it is not possible
to count all retrievals of every hook, use the
following procedure to calculate a total number of
hooks for a set:
1. Estimate the number of hours the vessel will be
fishing that day.
2. Divide the number of hours into small units.
The number of hooks retrieved must be counted
during at least 1/6 of the estimated time.
3. Apply a random systematic sampling frame to
select time units during which the number of
hooks retrieved will be counted.
4. During selected time units, count the number of
hooks retrieved. It should be possible to
continue to tally fish while counting hooks but it
may be impossible to weigh the fish.
5. Accurately record the actual amount of time the
vessel fished.
6. Multiply the number of hooks counted by the
total fishing time then divide by time spent
counting hooks to get the total number of hooks.
Total Hook Count = (# of Hooks Counted) X (Total Fishing Time)
Time Spent Counting Hooks
1/30/2004 5-33