Software Tools were developed to assist biologists in accessing and evaluating field data. Sportfishing data collected from anglers and divers along the California coast under the annual Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistical Survey is typed into computers and is available in a difficult to use text format on computer disks to marine biologists here and in other states. This office produced some software programs to select any of several specific types of information from these data files and make them easily summarized and readable. We are now able to compare any new data with previous data in a matter of hours instead of weeks. Included in these software tools and improved access are ways to view fish lengths by area, species and year. Fishing effort, catch rates and their location on maps can also be more easily produced and incorporated into documents, such as this newsletter. This development has lead to more rapid reporting abilities on the condition of our valuable resources, and has increased available time for more in-depth analysis and for work on other projects.