Estimates of recreational fishing effort on Monterey County sandy beaches based on instantaneous angler counts from indicator Progressive Angler Surveys (PAS), April 2009 to December 2020.

Each of the 533 Excel spreadsheets in this database contains instantaneous counts, using Progressive Angler Survey (PAS) methodology, of recreational surf anglers fishing on sandy beaches from Carmel north to Zmudowski State Beach (northern half of Monterey County) from June 2009 to December 2020 (no data October and November 2012). Usually four PAS were completed each month, two on weekend/holiday mornings and two on weekday mornings. These were considered "indicator" surveys. Anglers were included in the count if they were arriving at, or leaving from, the site when the observer arrived. The observer remained at each site only long enough to obtain an accurate count, using binoculars; during foggy mornings this sometimes necessitated walking the beach. The following physical parameters were recorded for each PAS: date; arrival and departure time of observer; general weather conditions; sea surface, air temperature, swell height, swell period, wind speed, and wind direction (these six parameters were based on readings from the offshore Monterey Bay NOAA buoy); time and height of nearest low and high tide; and estimated horizontal visibility. Separate counts were recorded at each of 16 locations; these were generally subdivisions of eight specific, numbered sites as established by CDFW's California Recreational Fisheries Survey.

This data and metadata were submitted by California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Staff though the Data Management Plan (DMP) framework with the id: DMP000082. For more information, please visit https://wildlife.ca.gov/Data/Sci-Data.