New Recreational Catch Reporting App Available

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) recently launched Myfishcount, a mobile app and web portal to accept angler trip and catch information.

The new app is part of an electronic reporting project created by SAFMC in partnership with the Snook and Game Fish Foundation to facilitate voluntary reporting of valuable and timely information to complement current fisheries monitoring programs.

Aside from logging fishing trip information and results to improve recreational data used to manage fisheries, the new Myfishcount mobile app — available for download (App Store and Google Play) — also enables anglers to review past outings and catches to identify patterns and improve chances for future fishing success.

The new app began as a Web portal, a pilot of which allowed anglers to report information about their red snapper catches and trips during the 2017 South Atlantic red snapper mini-season. It generated positive feedback and important data considered in reopening the recreational fishery for an additional weekend.

While the app and the Web portal (myfishcount.com) contain only a few required fields, both platforms provide the option to report additional information, including departure location, targeted species, gear used, type of port (private vs. public), fish length (kept and released), hook type, hook location, reason for release, release treatment, depth fished, time fished and more. The reported information is stored on a Webbased server, and fishermen can view their past catch information from the Web portal.