Nationally, there is a need for consistent and comparable information on recreational fishing to inform fishery stock assessment and to ensure sustainable harvests. The limitations of currently available sampling frames and survey methods mean that it is generally cost-prohibitive to achieve the amount of sampling coverage required to reduce bias and increase precision for many species. This is because recreational fishers are relatively rare in the population (~20%) and many species are either niche or have a regional component. Smartphone applications may provide a cost-effective alternative to collect information on recreational catch. This investment will compare app-based data with traditional phone-diary surveys to compare estimates and evaluate the accuracy of the results measured relative to independent population benchmarks.