No abstract

Whenever satisfied anglers are an important objective of recreational fisheries management, understanding how trip outcomes influence satisfaction reports is critical. While anglers, generally, prefer high catch rates and large fish, the relative importance of these catch outcomes for catch satisfaction has not been established across species and angler types. We examined relationships between angler specialization, trip outcomes (both catch and non-catch characteristics such as crowding), and catch satisfaction across six freshwater fish species in northern Germany. As expected, catch satisfaction was primarily determined by catch rate and fish size in all fish species; however, the relative importance of these two outcomes varied considerably across species and among angler types that differed by commitment to fishing. We found a diminishing marginal return of satisfaction for increasing catch rate for all but small-bodied cyprinid species, while increasing size of largest retained fish monotonically increased catch satisfaction in all species we examined. Non-catch outcomes (e.g., the number of other anglers seen while fishing) also had a significant negative influence on catch satisfaction, suggesting that non-catch factors are important in establishing expectations and for contextual evaluation of catch outcomes. We also determined that diversified trips made anglers more satisfied and that all else being equal, specialized anglers increased catch satisfaction from travel and fishing time. The results highlight the importance for managers to consider their particular mix of anglers as well as the fish species present when setting regulations aimed at increasing angler satisfaction.

Most conclusions from general assessments of angler motivations indicate that noncatch motives are more important to anglers than catch motives. Such research usually assesses the general motivation structure by anglers. To assess both general and more context‐specific angler motivations, we surveyed the same anglers from northeastern Germany using two phases of a complementary survey design. First, a 1‐year diary was used to collect trip‐specific information; second, a personalized mail survey was used to elicit context‐specific motivation information. Anglers selected their most important motives for their most frequent trip–target species combination (i.e., context) from a list of 10 salient fishing motives. Anglers frequently cited catch motives as the most important across a range of target species, large‐bodied species such as northern pike Esox lucius being primarily associated with trophy fishing. Some species (such as small‐bodied cyprinids) were targeted for noncatch reasons, while others (such as European perch [also known as Eurasian perch] Perca fluviatilis) attracted anglers seeking a multitude of psychological outcomes. Five distinct angler types were identified based on similarity of prime fishing motivation, namely, trophy‐seeking anglers; nontrophy, challenge‐seeking anglers; nature‐oriented anglers; meal‐sharing anglers; and social anglers. Members of these angler groups were similar in demographics and general angling behaviors but differed with respect to several indicators of angler specialization, indicating that committed anglers are more catch‐oriented than previously assumed.Received November 12, 2010; accepted May 26, 2011

Recreational specialisation theory was coupled with a discrete choice experiment to understand eel, Anguilla anguilla L., anglerÕs heterogeneity in their reaction to regulatory changes and the associated welfare changes. Differently specialised eel anglers exhibited distinct preferences for catch variables and eel angling regulations. All anglers preferred slightly to moderately stricter regulations than are currently in place; however, such policies particularly benefited casual eel anglers. In contrast, advanced eel anglers would be most penalised by highly restrictive regulations as indicated by substantial reductions in economic welfare. Aversions to stricter regulations found for advanced anglers contradicted predictions from specialisation theory. From an eel management perspective, the implementation of some simple tools such as increased minimum-size limits will reduce angling mortality on eel and simultaneously increase the welfare of anglers. By contrast, highly restrictive eel angling regulations will result in considerable economic welfare losses of several million € per year for northern Germany alone. K E Y W O R D S : discrete choice experiment, management preferences, recreational fishing, recreational specialisation.

Recreational freshwater fisheries are key components of local economies in many regions. The quality of these fisheries can be affected not only by harvest but also by catch‐and‐release practices. Documenting catch and release among sport fish taxa is, therefore, important to fisheries researchers studying sport fishes and managers regulating these fisheries. We used an angler diary survey to assess taxon‐specific effort, catch, harvest, release, and reason for release during the 2011 open‐water season. Our study included information on 5,007 fishing trips taken by 652 anglers. These anglers visited 279 lakes spanning 11,761.5 km2 of northern Wisconsin. Muskellunge Esox masquinongy, black bass (i.e., Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu and Largemouth Bass M. salmoides), Northern Pike E. lucius, Walleye Sander vitreus, and panfish were released at rates of 99, 97, 86, 67, and 67%, respectively, when targeted by anglers. This study is the first to document black bass catch‐and‐release rates in the region and corroborates previous findings of Muskellunge and Walleye catch‐and‐release rates based on creel surveys. Voluntary catch and release was the most common reason for release. Our findings suggest that regulations may be much more generous than the harvest rates practiced by anglers and that catch‐and‐release angling practices may be an important factor affecting these sport fish populations.Received July 18, 2012; accepted March 12, 2013

No abstract

To answer the question, whether anglers have an intrinsic preference for stocking or a preference for catch outcomes (e.g. catch rates) believed to be maintained by stocking, a discrete choice experiment was conducted among a sample of anglers (n = 1335) in Lower Saxony, Germany. After controlling for catch aspects of the fishing experience, no significant influence of two stocking attributes (stocking frequency and composition of the catch in terms of wild v. hatchery fishes) on the utility gained from fishing was found for any of the freshwater species that were studied. It was concluded that the previously documented large appreciation of fish stocking by anglers may be indicative of an underlying preference for sufficiently high catches rather than reflect an intrinsic preference for stocking or the catching of wild fishes per se.

Using a bioeconomic model, we systematically investigated how hooking mortality and regulatory noncompliance influenced management outcomes across a range of freshwater fish species exploited by diverse angler populations. The model integrated an empirically based submodel describing the behaviour of three angler types with an age-structured fish population submodel calibrated to five life-history types (LHTs). Increased hooking mortality generally undermined regulation effectiveness, decreased socially optimal input (license numbers) and output regulations (minimum-size limits), and eroded the social welfare anglers derived from the fishery. However, the results strongly varied with LHT and angler type. Noncompliance had an isolated effect, primarily affecting fish species with low compensatory reserves when hooking mortality was low. However, in the absence of regulatory constraints on effort, noncompliance facilitated recruitment overfishing and increased the minimum-size limit required to avoid it. Despite added mortality from hooking and noncompliance, the strong dependence of angler utility on catch rates usually meant socially optimal management safeguarded biological sustainability. Yet, ignoring hooking mortality and noncompliance when predicting optimal regulations often led to population collapse. To conclude, models designed to derive recommendations for recreational fisheries management must consider both hooking mortality and noncompliance. Otherwise, dissatisfied anglers or biologically overfished stocks are possible.