REGION - Two members from the Department of Primary Industries and Resources (PIRSA) recently spent two days interviewing local fishermen.
As part of the Recreational Fishing Survey Mike Koch and John Mathews were out and about on Friday and Saturday meeting recreational fishermen on the South Coast.
The two men travelled from Victor Harbor to the Murray Mouth gathering information on catches, sizes and catch rates.
They also wanted to find out the amount of time people were putting into fishing and how far they had to travel.
They visited popular sites including Petrol Cove, the Bluff jetty, the Causeway, Port Elliot and Goolwa Beaches, No 19 Beacon, Sugars Beach and Mundoo Channel.
The pair interviewed 10-12 cockle diggers and about a dozen fishermen on Friday and a further 30 fishermen on Saturday. Both days returned similar results.
"Catches were very low," Mike said.
The activities are all part of a year-long survey across the state that aims to provide an indication of the state of fishing resources.
The survey is about three quarters finished and involves on-site and phone surveys. So far, more than 1300 households every month are surveyed by phone; more than 1600 recreational fishers have been interviewed at jetties, major boat ramps and beaches and 120 anglers are keeping a log book on their activities.
The survey will finish in September.