Probability-based surveying using self-sampling to estimate catch and effort in Norway's coastal tourist fishery

Abstract

Vølstad, J. H., Korsbrekke, K., Nedreaas, K. H., Nilsen, M., Nilsson, G. N., Pennington, M., Subbey, S., and Wienerroither, R. 2011. Probability-based surveying using self-sampling to estimate catch and effort in Norway's coastal tourist fishery. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 1785–1791. Recreational fishing as a tourist activity has become an increasingly important part of the Norwegian travel industry and may contribute significantly to the fishing mortality on Norwegian coastal cod (Gadus morhua). Quantifying catches in the tourist fishery is made difficult by Norway's intricate and long coastline, and the lack of a fishing licence system, a registry of businesses catering for fishing tourists, and a registry of charter boats. A probability-based survey was used to estimate annual catch and effort by boat for anglers associated with 445 tourist-fishing businesses during 2009. From a stratified random sample of businesses, fishing tourists were recruited systematically over time to record their daily catch and effort in diaries. Cod dominated the reported landed catch (harvest) north of 62°N, and saithe and mackerel dominated south of 62°N. The estimated total landed catch of all species taken by tourist fishers in the business sector during 2009 was 3335 t (relative standard error, RSE = 17%), of which 1613 t (RSE = 22%) were cod. It is concluded that surveys based on self-sampling can yield accurate estimates of catch and effort accounted for by the business sector of the Norwegian tourist fishery and that the tourist catch of coastal cod is insignificant compared with the commercial and recreational catch by local residents.

Effects of Fishing Tourism in a Coastal Municipality: a Case Study from Risør, Norway

“…A strong model assumption in our study is that fishing tourists totally disappear if cod fishing is banned. As saithe and mackerel dominate catches taken by tourists in southern Norway (Vølstad et al 2011), a ban on cod fishing in the Søndeled fjord system may have less impact on the local economy than we predict. A ban on only commercial fishing, as in scenario 3, is predicted to increase the local economic benefits from tourism far more than the losses from the commercial fishery.…”

“…In 2010, the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs allocated a quota of 7000 metric tons of coastal cod to the recreational fisheries. Vølstad et al (2011) estimated that approximately 1600 metric tons of cod were caught in the business sector of the marine fishing tourism in Norway during 2009. Their study focused on tourists who rented accommodation and boats through tourist fishing enterprises and did not include fishing tourists who booked private cottages directly from owners.…”

“…The most valued species for tourist anglers in the Risør fjords is the coastal cod, although saithe (Pollachius virens) and mackerel (Scomber scombrus) often dominate their catches in southern Norway (Vølstad et al 2011). The coastal cod stocks are more stationary than those in the open sea, and the cod stocks in many fjords are genetically distinct from each other, and from those in the open sea (Knudsen et al 2003).…”

Institutional challenges for effective governance of consumptive wildlife tourism: case studies of marine angling tourism in Iceland and Norway

“…Norway "At present, there are no precise and unbiased annual statistics available for total recreational fishing effort along the coast of Norway or on how much and which species are caught… Hence, there is a need for more and better information on the coastal zone to mitigate conflicts among stakeholders and to ensure sustainable fisheries" (Vølstad et al (2011b), p. 1786).…”

“…The only number one can claim to know with any certainty might be the number of boats. Based on Vølstad et al (2011b), the total number of boats used for MAT is calculated to be 2,393 for all of Norway in 2009;and Borch et al's (2011) Government regulations reserve quota for the months of May, June, July and August (123 fishing days). Based on the interviews conducted, 80 reflects a realistic figure for a typical season.…”