The Angler in the Environment: Social, Economic, Biological, and Ethical Dimensions

2011 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Animal Rights ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Human Dimensions ◽  
Fish Stock ◽  
Recreational Fishing ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Recreational Fisheries ◽  
Recreational Angling ◽  
Fisheries Sustainability

<i>Abstract</i> .—There is a need to better understand the perspectives of various recreational fishing stakeholder groups regarding key issues related to fisheries sustainability. To provide a first snapshot and to inform future human dimension studies in this area, we distributed a Web-based open-access survey to fisheries researchers, fisheries managers, and anglers in North America. Attitudes of these respondents towards issues such as overharvest, impacts of catch and release, recreational fisheries management, and research priorities for the future were assessed. We found similar opinions and perspectives by the responding recreational anglers, managers, and researchers on a number of issues, such as the perceived impact of commercial fishing contributing to fish stock declines, the perceived importance of using and promoting gear that minimizes stress and injury to individual fish when fish are to be released, and the belief that conflicts among stakeholders is growing as is the global anti-fishing movement based on animal rights thinking. Differences among responding groups included that researchers tended to be more concerned than anglers and managers with the potential of recreational angling contributing to fish stock declines. Responding anglers were also less content with their involvement in the fisheries management process than were responding managers and researchers, and these anglers also indicated a greater desire for more human dimensions research on understanding angler attitudes and behavior than was evident for responding managers and researchers. This preliminary survey revealed some variation in attitudes among recreational fisheries stakeholders. However, due to lack of random sampling, the study results cannot be extrapolated to the population level. We nevertheless conclude that improved communication and better understanding about the different perspectives among fisheries researchers, managers, and anglers and intrasectorally among different angling groups are needed, particularly when addressing contentious issues of relevance for the entire recreational fishing sector.

The Angler in the Environment: Social, Economic, Biological, and Ethical Dimensions

2011 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Animal Rights ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Ethical Challenge ◽  
Recreational Fishing ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Catch And Release ◽  
Individual Fish ◽  
Recreational Angling ◽  
The Individual

<i>Abstract</i>.—Ever since fishing was called recreational fishing, a cruelty charge has hovered around somewhere in the background. In recent times, however, it has made it to the fore substantiated by anthropomorphic reasoning and fuelled by high-visibility papers claiming that fish can feel pain and suffer. Because some segments of the public perceive the infliction of these mental states to fish as abhorrent and not outweighing the costs imposed on the individual fish by appropriate benefits to the human, recreational fishing is coming under attack on moral grounds. Other challenges have also emerged that do not center on the issue of whether fish are sentient or not. In this paper, we describe five of the most prevalent moral challenges to recreational angling, two of which—animal welfare and wilderness-centered perspectives—can offer a constructive outlook by calling upon improved treatment of individual fish (animal welfare) and generally more sustainable management (wilderness perspective). In contrast, if one subscribes to animal liberation or animal rights philosophies, the outlook for recreational fishing is generally negative: it has to stop. A final challenge is associated with the motivations of anglers. The moral argument there is that the activity is carried out largely for angler pleasure rather than as a means of securing survival. The outlook of this ethical challenge sometimes leans towards only accepting one form of recreational fishing: catching, killing, and eating. Voluntary catch-and-release fishing and practices such as tournament fishing with a strict total catch-and-release policy would then not be ethically permissible. In this paper, we highlight the origin and background of each of the five ethical challenges and explain their implications for recreational fishing.

Recovery of inner Shark Bay snapper (Pagrus auratus) stocks: relevant research and adaptive recreational fisheries management in a World Heritage Property

2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (11) ◽  
pp. 1180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Jackson ◽  
Michael Moran
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Threshold Level ◽  
Recreational Fishing ◽  
Minimum Length ◽  
Recreational Fisheries ◽  
Total Allowable Catch ◽  
Shark Bay ◽  
Limited Effectiveness ◽  
Pagrus Auratus ◽  
The 1960S

Despite the increasing importance of marine recreational fishing, recreational fisheries management is often hampered by lack of adequate data and limited effectiveness of conventional regulations. In Shark Bay, Western Australia, snapper (Pagrus auratus) in the Eastern Gulf, Denham Sound and Freycinet Estuary have been a major attraction for recreational fishers since the 1960s. Various management measures were progressively introduced from 1998 onwards to limit snapper catches, including increases in minimum length, introduction of a maximum length, reductions in daily bag limit, a moratorium in the Eastern Gulf (June 1998–March 2003), a 6-week spawning closure in the Freycinet Estuary and, finally, the introduction of a Total-Allowable-Catch-based system in 2003. Stock assessments in 2011 indicated that spawning biomass in the Eastern Gulf and Denham Sound had rebuilt to the management target level while biomass in the Freycinet Estuary remained below the threshold level but was continuing to slowly rebuild. This paper summarising the research and adaptive management of the snapper fishery over the last 15+ years represents an important case study that addresses a range of issues typically associated with marine recreational fisheries, including assessment of stock size and recreational catch, evaluation of management regulations and active engagement with the recreational fishing community.

scholarly journals Recreational fishing on YouTube: Insights on harvesting patterns, social engagement and sentiments related to the distributional range shift of a marine invasive species

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerio Sbragaglia ◽  
Lucía Espasandín Soneira ◽  
Salvatore Coco ◽  
Alberto Felici ◽  
Ricardo A. Correia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Human Dimensions ◽  
Range Shift ◽  
Recreational Fishing ◽  
Recreational Fisheries ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Pomatomus Saltatrix ◽  
Distributional Range ◽  
Associated Data

Fisheries are among the human activities that are most strongly affected by ongoing climate-related changes in the presence and abundance of fish species across the globe. The ecological and social repercussions of such changes for recreational fisheries are however still poorly understood. Here, we explore selected ecological and social dimensions of recreational angling and spearfishing targeting the bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) in Italy. The bluefish has undergone a northward expansion in the region over the last 20-30 years, during which it reached new areas and increased in abundance. Using digital videos and their associated data published by recreational fishers on YouTube we characterized ecological and social dimensions using a culturomics approach. Specifically, we focused on harvesting patterns, social engagement and sentiments related to the bluefish. Our study revealed four major results: (i) similar harvesting patterns (i.e., declared mass and seasonal upload patterns) related to videos by recreational anglers and spearfishers; (ii) higher social engagement (i.e., number of views and likes) for videos by recreational anglers than spearfishers; (iii) differences in themes of discussion, with anglers being mainly interested in fishing strategy and gears and spearfishers being more interested in fishing actions shown on the videos; iv) positive and negative sentiments of both recreational anglers and spearfishers towards the invasiveness and aggressiveness of the species. The latter represents an interesting trade-off associated with recreational fishing of the bluefish: it is perceived as an invasive species, but it is also a valued fish target because its voracity contributes to the quality of the recreational fishing experience. Our study showcases the value of exploring social media and associated data to better understand the ecological and human dimensions of marine recreational fisheries in relation to distributional range shifts of species associated with climate change.

scholarly journals How to Define Successful Stocking of Florida’s Freshwater Recreational Fisheries

EDIS ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (5) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Edward Vincent Camp ◽  
Rick Stout ◽  
Nick Trippel ◽  
Jon Fury ◽  
Stasey Whichel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Forest Resources ◽  
Recreational Fishing ◽  
Recreational Fisheries ◽  
Conservation Program ◽  
Fact Sheet ◽  
Aquatic Sciences

Florida researchers and fisheries management agencies have conducted years of research on stocking, a common and popular but intensive option for improving recreational fisheries, but determining how successful it has been in Florida has been challenging. This 7-page fact sheet written by Edward V. Camp, Rick Stout, Nick Trippel, Jon Fury, Stasey Whichel, and Kai Lorenzen and published by the UF/IFAS School of Forest Resources and Conservation Program in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences reviews recent scientific literature to describe the benefits of stocking and the potential drawbacks to create useful definitions of stocking success, as well as metrics for evaluation that are specifically tailored for Florida. Well-planned stocking can not only improve recreational fishing but achieve broader research and management goals and help us to understand how fisheries function, both biologically and socioeconomically. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa216

scholarly journals Data-poor stock assessment of fish stocks co-exploited by commercial and recreational fisheries: applications to pike (Esox lucius) in the western Baltic Sea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob van Gemert ◽  
Dieter Koemle ◽  
Helmut Winkler ◽  
Robert Arlinghaus
Keyword(s):  
Stock Assessment ◽  
Recreational Fishing ◽  
Recreational Fisheries ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Recreational Angling ◽  
Mixed Use ◽  
Stock Assessments ◽  
The Status

AbstractInformation on catch and effort of recreational angling in mixed-use fisheries (co-exploited by commercial and recreational fishers) is often scarce, preventing the application of data-rich stock assessments typically performed for industrialized commercial fisheries. Here, we show how data-poor stock assessment methods developed for marine fisheries, particularly a class of models labelled as “catch-only” models (COMs), offer a possible solution. As a case study, we use COMs to assess a northern pike stock around the German Baltic island of Rügen. We fit multiple COMs to a time-series of total pike removals, and use their outputs as explanatory variables in superensemble models. We conclude that the stock is fully exploited and currently declining. Our study highlights the potential for using COMs to determine status of previously-unassessed coastal and freshwater stocks facing recreational fishing pressure, and demonstrates how incorporating recreational removals is crucial for achieving reliable insights into the status of mixed-use stocks.

scholarly journals Swallowing the bait: is recreational fishing in Australia ecologically sustainable?

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. P. McPhee ◽  
D. Leadbitter ◽  
G. A. Skilleter
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Recreational Fishing ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Recreational Angling ◽  
Commercial Harvest ◽  
Emerging Issues ◽  
Ecologically Sustainable

Recreational fishing is a growing component of the total fishery harvest in many countries, but the impacts of this sector on aquatic resources are often ignored in the management of aquatic systems. Recreational fishing is open-access, and in many inshore regions, the recreational harvest exceeds the commercial harvest. The environmental impacts from recreational angling can be both ecologically significant and broad in scope and include: the removal of a considerable biomass of a wide variety of species; discarded by-catch; possible trophic cascades through the removal of higher order carnivores; impacts on habitat through bait harvesting; impacts of introduced and translocated species to support angling fisheries; direct impacts on sea-birds, marine mammals and reptiles; and angler generated pollution. Management, for several reasons, has largely ignored these environmental impacts from recreational fishing. Recreational fishing impacts are cumulative, whereas there is a tendency for consideration of impacts in isolation. Recreational fishing lobbyists have generally been successful in focusing public and political attention on other impacts such as commercial fishing, and recreational fishing has tended not to come under close scrutiny from conservation and environmental groups. Without changes to the monitoring and management of recreational fisheries that incorporate the broad ecological impacts from the activity, it may not be ecologically sustainable in the long term and Australia will not meet its international obligations of protecting aquatic biodiversity. The definition of property rights and appropriate measures to prevent or manage large scale marine restocking are two emerging issues that also need to be addressed.

Status of Human Dimensions Surveys Sponsored by State and Provincial Fisheries Management Agencies in North America

Fisheries ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 12-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gene R. Wilde ◽  
Robert B. Ditton ◽  
Shepherd R. Grimes ◽  
Robin K. Riechers
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Human Dimensions

scholarly journals Characteristics of Marine Recreational Fishing in the anakkale Strait (Turkey)

2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 315 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. UNAL ◽  
D. ACARLI ◽  
A. GORDOA
Keyword(s):  
Time Of Day ◽  
Recreational Fishing ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Pomatomus Saltatrix ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Policy Information ◽  
Surveillance Programs ◽  
Catch Composition ◽  
The Impact

The economic and harvest impacts of Marine Recreational Fishing (MRF) in Çanakkale Strait were analysed along with fishing policy, sociology and habits of fishers. Data sources included field survey data carried out along the entire length of the Çanakkale strait and policy information gathered from published sources. MRF policy is commendable, even in the fishing tourism sector, and is better developed than that in many other European countries. In Çanakkale, 9.9% of the population is recreational fishers. Recreational fishers are typically men (90%), primarily those between the ages of 25 and 49 yrs. The occupation of the recreational fishers ranged from self-employed (28%), students (28%), retired persons (22%) and public employees (15%), to currently-unemployed persons (7%). An analysis of diel behaviour showed that most recreational fishers preferred fishing during the day (56.1%), while the evening was the next most preferred time for fishing (18%), followed by the night-time (9.8%), while a substantial number of recreational fishers (16.1%) reported that they fished at any time of day. The most popular type of fishing was shore-based (68%), followed by boat-based (21%), and underwater fishing (11%). The mean daily fishing times were 6.07 h d-1, 6.18 h d-1 4.75 d-1 for boat-based, underwater and shore-based fishing, respectively. Summer and autumn were the preferred seasons for shore-based and underwater fishing, while autumn and winter were preferred for boat-based fishing. The highest Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE) was observed for boat-based fishing (2.77 kg h-1), followed by underwater (0.97 kg h-1) and shore-based fishing (0.81 kg h-1). The catch composition included 51 species, though the catch composition of each fishing type was mostly comprised of only 3 or 4 species. The impact of the MRF harvest was high (30% of commercial fishing), particularly for bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) and picarel (Spicara smaris) species. The economic impact of MRF was highly negative. Several indicators including the following revealed a high percentage of trading catch (47%) being conducted under the guise of a recreational label: annual fishing intensity, total costs, target species, and sales. At present, it is evident that the highly developed recreational fishing policy in Turkey is not sufficient to ensure that recreational fishing is sustainable or to prevent fishing conflicts in Turkey. This study revealed the need for establishing monitoring, control and surveillance programs to ensure the sustainability of fish resources and fisheries including MRF.

scholarly journals Human dimensions: the fishery guards versus illegal fishermen in three regions of Central-Eastern Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-47
Author(s):  
Maciej Mickiewicz ◽  
Arkadiusz Wołos ◽  
Marek Trella
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Human Dimensions ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
Professional Experience ◽  
Inland Waters ◽  
Recreational Fisheries ◽  
Point Scale ◽  
Central Eastern Europe ◽  
Central Eastern

AbstractSixty officers of the fisheries guard from three regions in northeast Poland, an area that is rich in inland waters, were surveyed. The results obtained are presented as percentages of each possible answer to each question and as rankings on a five-point scale. Those surveyed reported that the most common motivation for serving in the guard was an interest in nature, followed by an interest in recreational fisheries and then their own material and living conditions. Those surveyed reported that the principal motivation for poaching was to earn profits and as a consequence of unemployment. Sixty percent of officers reported encountering aggression from those who were monitored. Ninety percent of officers reported receiving threats from those monitored. The officers surveyed ranked their professional experience the highest among factors that impacted the effectiveness of the activities performed by the fisheries guard and the possibility of safeguarding ichthyofauna against poaching.

scholarly journals Kahawai Phylogeny and Phylogenetics:  A Genetic Investigation into Commercial and Recreational Fisheries Management and Practice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Brenton Hodgson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Coastal Communities ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Recreational Fisheries ◽  
Monophyletic Clade ◽  
Genetic Investigation ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The Family

<p>Globally, commercially exploited fish species are coming under more and more pressure as the population of humans grow. Protein from the sea has traditionally been available to coastal communities throughout history. In modern times however, traditional artisanal fisheries have been replaced by commercial fishing industries. It is estimated by some authorities that these modern fisheries have led to decreases in pre-exploitation biomass of desirable species of up to 90%. As desirable species decline, secondary species become more valuable and subject to exploitation. An issue with this exploitation is that management decisions of fish stocks are often based on political or commercial concerns rather than sound science focussed on preserving stocks, and ultimately, fishing industries. To investigate phylogenetic and phylogeographic relationships of fish, kahawai (Arripis trutta) was used as a proxy species. A. trutta is one of only four members of the genus Arripis, which in turn is the sole member of the family Arripidae. It was found that a single, highly connected population of A. trutta inhabit New Zealand waters, and approximately 15 migrants per generation make the journey between New Zealand and Australia, genetically linking these populations. A phylogeny of A. trutta was resolved using mitochondrial DNA, and while COX1 data supported the hypothesis that A. trutta forms a monophyletic clade within the Stromateoids (medusa fish, squaretails and drift fish) and the Scombrids (tuna, mackerel and their allies) suggesting a common ancestor, other data collected during the investigation does not support this hypothesis.</p>

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