Coastal Household Telephone Survey

The CHTS is conducted in coastal counties of coastal states.  Coastal counties are (1) those counties which border on marine waters, including areas where marine species of finfish are caught, and (2) those counties any part of which is within a distance from shore specified by NOAA Fisheries.  The specified distances from marine shoreline are intended to include most of the participants in marine recreational private boat and shore fishing.

Past survey results indicate that for most states and territories, a distance of 25 to 50 miles from the coast includes the population accounting for 70-80 percent or more of the total private/rental boat and shore fishing trips in the state.  Generally counties with any part of their boundary within 25 miles of the coast or shorelines of major bays or estuaries are always considered coastal counties and are included in the telephone household survey.  There are several extensions to this definition:

   1. The boundary is extended to 50 miles in the South Atlantic and Gulf subregions from May through October (Waves 3 through 5).
   2. For the Pacific Coast, the distance varies due to the large size of the counties, and may extend beyond 25 miles in many areas. Some counties on the Pacific Coast that are outside the 25 mile coastal zone are also included since they represent metropolitan areas that contained anglers known to go saltwater sport fishing.
   3. Due to special residence and fishing participation patterns, North Carolina coastal counties are within 50 miles of the coast from November through April (Waves 1, 2, and 6) and within 100 miles of the coast from May through October (Waves 3, 4 and 5).

Additional information is available for:
  Coastal Household Telephone Survey (CHTS)
  Angler License Directory Survey (ALDS)

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