Standard Sampling of Inland Fish : Benefits , Challenges , and a Call for Action

IThere are many examples of how standardization of procedures in production and data collection have led to remarkable advances in industry and science, but standardization E is lacking regarding protocols for sampling fish populations in inland, freshwater sys4/ tems. Reasons given why biologists often resist standardized sampling protocols include X perceptions that differences in regions invalidate standard techniques; use of standard sampling is costly and reduces innovation by regional biologists; the variation already present in nature masks any gains introduced by standardization; and historical trend data is lost. We examine these reasons and provide procedures that may serve as a template by describing how development and implementation of standardized sampling protocols were achieved by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. These procedures included obtaining support from high-level management within the agency and input from a wide variety of sources; emphasizing benefits to management biologists; designing procedures to be simple and cost-effective; minimizing variation in catchability and maximizing catch; providing techniques for determining sample sizes; and field testing, reviewing methods, and training crews before implementation. Standardization can provide clear benefits and we discuss the option of developing nation-wide or continent-wide standards with leadership by the American Fisheries Society.