Research on the social and economic value of marine recreational fishing and its possible effects on marinefish stocks and ecosystems has been underrepresented in Germany in the past. This study should therefore collect and analyze representative data on (1) the number, fishing effort, and catches of German marine anglers in the North Sea and Baltic Sea (including the brackish lagoon Bodden waters), (2) the socio-economic importance,and (3) aspects of fisheries management.Therefore, a representative telephone screening survey was conducted with 50,000 randomly selected German households in the period from May to October 2014 to determine the incidence of marine anglers in the German population and to recruit participants for a one-year diary study. The telephone screening survey identified 562 households with marine anglers. The diary study involved 586 anglers who documented a total of 5,154 fishing days. The results showed that a total of around 200,000 German marine anglers fished approximately 1.8 million days per year in the German Northand Baltic Sea including the Bodden waters. In the Baltic Sea, about 161,000 anglers fished for approx. 1.2 million fishing days per year in 2014/2015. For the Bodden waters this resulted in about 49,000 persons and a fishing effort of about 332,000 fishing days per year in 2014/2015. At the North Sea there were about 32.000 anglers with about 147.000 fishing days per year in 2014/2015. While angling in the Baltic Sea and the Bodden waters was mainly carried out from boats, shore fishing was the most popular fishing method in the North Sea. German marine anglers were predominantly male (92%), on average 49 years old, and lived in households with two or three persons. Peace and relaxation, the experience of nature, and the capture of fish were the main motives for pursuing their hobby. On average, each angler spent about 900 Euro per year on marine recreational fishingin Germany, which corresponds to a total annual expenditure of 185 million Euro. The largest share of the expenditure was accounted for by costs for own boats, fishing tackle, travel/transportation, and accommodation. Marine anglers are thus an important source of income for coastal tourism in Germany, especially in the low season. The evaluation of the diary study showed that a total of 27 different fish species were caught in the Baltic Sea during the study period. The most important target species for Baltic Sea anglers were cod (Gadus morhua), sea trout (Salmo trutta), various flatfishes (Pleuronectoidei), and herring (Clupea harengus), with cod and herring being also the most commonly caught fish. Depending on the species, the importance of recreational fisheries harvests varied considerably compared to the German commercial fisheries landings in the Baltic Sea (ICES subdivisions 22 and 24). For example, the relative share of recreational fishing on the total harvest (sum of commercial and recreational harvest in tons) of sea trout (91%) and cod (53%) was high, while the shares of herring and flounder were each well below 10% of the total harvest. A total of 17 fish species were caught in the Bodden waters. Pike (Esox lucius), pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) and perch (Perca fluviatilis) were the most important target species. The most commonly caught species were herring, perch, pike, garfish (Belone belone), and pikeperch. Overall the results show that angling plays an important role for certain fish stocks in the Bodden waters. In the case of pike, angling is even the dominant form of exploitation. A total of 13 species of fish were caught in the North Sea. The most popular target fish species were sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), flatfish, cod and mackerel (Scomber scombrus). The most commonly caught species were mackerel, plaice (Pleuronectes platessa), and cod. Overall, it was found that angling in the North Sea is of rather minor importance compared to commercial fishing. About two thirds of the anglers were very or rather satisfied with their catches during marine recreational fishing, whereas about 22% were rather or very dissatisfied. The main reasons for being unsatisfied were overfishing and insufficient regulation of commercial fishing. Minimum landing sizes and closed seasons were judged as very good recreational fisheries management measures by about 80% of the marine anglers, whereas daily bag limits were assessed more critically. The results of this study may serve as basis for the development of a sustainable marine recreational fishery in Germany. Furthermore, social and economic aspects should be considered in future management decisions in order to ensure a sustainable, fair and, from an economic perspective, optimal allocation of the marine fish resources in Germany.