Assessing Fishers' Support of Striped Bass Management Strategies

Abstract

Incorporating the perspectives and insights of stakeholders is an essential component of ecosystem-based fisheries management, such that policy strategies should account for the diverse interests of various groups of anglers to enhance their efficacy. Here we assessed fishing stakeholders’ perceptions on the management of Atlantic striped bass (Morone saxatilis) and receptiveness to potential future regulations using an online survey of recreational and commercial fishers in Massachusetts and Connecticut (USA). Our results indicate that most fishers harbored adequate to positive perceptions of current striped bass management policies when asked to grade their state’s management regime. Yet, subtle differences in perceptions existed between recreational and commercial fishers, as well as across individuals with differing levels of fishing experience, resource dependency, and tournament participation. Recreational fishers in both states were generally supportive or neutral towards potential management actions including slot limits (71%) and mandated circle hooks to reduce mortality of released fish (74%), but less supportive of reduced recreational bag limits (51%). Although commercial anglers were typically less supportive of management changes than their recreational counterparts, the majority were still supportive of slot limits (54%) and mandated use of circle hooks (56%). Our study suggests that both recreational and commercial fishers are generally supportive of additional management strategies aimed at sustaining healthy striped bass populations and agree on a variety of strategies. However, both stakeholder groups were less supportive of harvest reductions, which is the most direct measure of reducing mortality available to fisheries managers. By revealing factors that influence stakeholders’ support or willingness to comply with management strategies, studies such as ours can help managers identify potential stakeholder support for or conflicts that may result from regulation changes.

Expected Economic and Biological Impacts of Recreational Atlantic Striped Bass Fishing Policy

“…Gautum and Steinback (1998) found similar socioeconomic differences between anglers who indicated fishing for striped bass and all other anglers among a sample of more than twenty thousand anglers that were interviewed after fishing on a private or charter boat. Like those in Murphy et al (2015), the recreational striped bass anglers in our sample have been fishing for striped bass for about 22 years and spent an average of 14.7 days fishing for striped bass during the past 12 months. Finally, more than 90% of the anglers in our sample fish for striped bass primarily from the shore (36.2%) or from a private boat (54.6%).…”

“…It also includes results from two recent angler surveys to which we compare the characteristics of our sample. One of these surveys was directed at licensed recreational striped bass anglers in Connecticut and Massachusetts (Murphy et al, 2015), and the other was directed at the United States population of recreational anglers (Lovell et al, 2016). The striped bass anglers in our sample have a mean age of 54.3, which is consistent with the median age of sampled anglers from Murphy et al (2015), and spent an average of 26.7 days fishing for saltwater species in the past 12 months.…”

A Literature Review on Stakeholder Participation in Coastal and Marine Fisheries

“…Bitunjac et al (2016) selected stakeholders of which the authors assumed to have a leading influence within their group and were, therefore, seen as representatives of their stakeholder group. Catedrilla et al (2012), Kerr et al (2006) and Murphy et al (2015) (b) method application for participation (e.g. interview, workshops and questionnaire) and stakeholders (e.g.…”

“…'Recreational fishery' was represented in five publications, two in Australia (Fletcher 2005, Mitchell andBaba 2006) and three in North America (e.g. Miller et al 2010;Gray et al 2012;Murphy et al 2015), all of them focused on management processes.…”

Anglers' views on stock conservation: Sea bass angling in Ireland

“…Fewer studies have looked at the compliance behaviour and perceptions of fishers in the recreational context. Empirical studies in the recreational sphere are mainly related to attitudes (Murphy Jr et al, 2015), violations (Schill and Kline, 1995) and relationship between knowledge and compliance (Page and Radomski, 2006). Anglers' compliance with legislation should not be overlooked.…”