Modeling recreational fishing intensity in a complex urbanised estuary

Griffin, Kingsley J.; Hedge, Luke H.; Warton, David I.; Astles, K. L.; Johnston, Emma L.

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111529

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…The global increase in the number of participants has implications for the volume of RFMD. While recreational fishing is geographically widespread, fishing effort is generally highly concentrated in locations that are relatively easy to access and that provide appropriate habitat for target species (Caddy and Carocci, 1999;Bucher, 2006;Smallwood et al, 2006;Ochwada-Doyle et al, 2014;Lynch, 2006;Griffin et al, 2021). Most marine recreational fishing occurs in estuaries or coastal areas and embayments that provide protection from prevailing weather.…”

Section: Fishing Gear and Effortmentioning

confidence: 99%

Source, fate and management of recreational fishing marine debris

Watson

Blount²,

McPhee

et al. 2022

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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Section: Fishing Gear and Effortmentioning

confidence: 99%

Source, fate and management of recreational fishing marine debris

Watson

Blount²,

McPhee

et al. 2022

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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“…We found that the concentrations of marine debris on the seafloor under piers was ten-fold that at adjacent soft-sediment habitats, and that debris abundance increased nearer the estuary mouth. Approximately 70% of total debris items recorded in this study were classified as fishing-related, and intuitively, boat-based fishing was concentrated at near shore bays towards the estuary mouth and at piers throughout the harbour [ 45 ]. These results indicate a need for more effective management of anthropogenic benthic marine debris in highly urbanised areas, particularly in areas that are commonly used by recreational fishers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Boat and shore-based fishing efforts occur throughout the harbour, with estimates of over 300,000 hours of fishing during a summer period [ 43 ]. Recreational boating makes up 70% of boat traffic in Sydney Harbour [ 44 ] with boat-based fishers positively associated with nearshore soft-sediment benthic habitats, particularly towards the estuary mouth [ 45 ]. Shore-based fishing occurs throughout the harbour, but especially at piers and wharves [ 45 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Piers are hotspots for benthic marine debris in an urbanised estuary

2022

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Records of anthropogenic marine debris and the threats it poses are increasing worldwide, yet we know relatively little about the distribution of benthic debris. The seafloor is the final destination for a large proportion of debris due to the degradation and sinking of items. A more detailed understanding of debris distributions in hotspots such as urbanised estuaries can help decision makers target management and remediation activities. We selected sites frequented by fishers and boaters in Sydney Harbour, an urbanised estuary, to investigate the impacts of recreational activities on debris abundance. The aim of this study was to examine variation in macro debris (>5mm in diameter) type and abundance at two habitat types (piers and non-piers). We chose five locations at various distances from the estuary mouth. In each location SCUBA teams performed fixed transects at two sites, one under a pier and one over nearby soft-sediment habitat. Debris was recovered by the divers and brought to the surface for classification and disposal. Surveys were repeated multiple times at each location between November 2019 and February 2020, recording a total of 2803 debris items over 36 survey events. Overall, piers had more than ten times the debris abundance of soft-sediment sites, and much higher proportion of debris types related to recreational fishing. Over half of the debris items in this study were plastic (65%), and approximately 70% of the total debris was classified as related to recreational fishing. This trait was most prominent in debris at sites closest to the estuary mouth, likely reflecting increased fishing activity in this area. This study indicates that policy makers and community groups in urbanised estuaries should focus monitoring, reduction, and remediation efforts near artificial structures such as piers, and that public awareness campaigns should target the behaviour of recreational users of these structures.

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“…However, given the relatively poor performance of the adult snapper model, further research is required to better assess whether fishing is the predominant anthropogenic stressor influencing adult snapper distributions in the region. Future studies could test fishing related hypotheses by including spatially-explicit measures of recreational and commercial fishing effort in species distribution models (Griffin et al, 2020;Navarro et al, 2020) or by using manipulative experimental approaches.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%