Survey Overview

Ontario component of 2005 Survey of Recreational Fishing in Canada, information specific to the Great Lakes system has been developed since 1980 in order to determine the economic importance of the fishery on Canada’s largest fresh water fishing source. More specifically, the survey’s target population in Ontario covered all individuals identified in the 2005 provincial recreational fishing licence database. In 2005, the questionnaires were mailed out to over 16,000 households within Canada and in other countries to obtain information on recreational fishing activities.

The 2005 survey collected information on:

• angler profile (age, sex, residence, etc.)
• recreational fishing activity
  • fishing effort by regions;
  • number of fish caught and retained;
  • harvest by species and  by fisheries management and/or economic region;
  • trip information; and
  • catch and release activities
• expenditures
  • major purchases or investments attributable to fishing activities;
  • package deals purchased; and
  • direct expenditures related to recreational fishing trip activities.

Section 6 provides a more detailed description of the survey methodology as well as indicators of data quality and statistical reliability of key variables.