Fisheries Research
The District of Columbia's recreational fishery includes a variety of fish species. It is necessary to obtain detailed and accurate information on stock levels and reproductive potential of the existing fish populations in order to manage these resources. Annual monitoring provides a ready reference for implementation of fisheries regulations and other management decisions. To keep the database complete, a fishery survey is conducted monthly to help determine seasonal occurrences, relative abundance, size, and age of fishes. The data is collected and coordinated with physical and hydrographic parameters to provide a understanding of distribution as it relates to environmental conditions.

Fisheries Management
The main objective of the Fisheries Resource Management program is to provide suitable fish habitat to increase the number and diversity of fish in the waters of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers in the District.

Under this program collection of biological data is taken on the fishes, as well as surveys of anglers to provide managers with information on angling effort, fish harvest, species popularity, demographics, angler expenditure, and other parameters. The angler surveys allows detection of trends in recreational usage of the fisheries resources in the District and provide other information required for successful management of resources.