Using satisfaction to evaluate management of recreational fisheries

Assessing satisfaction can be a valuable starting point for determining angler perceptions and needs in a recreational fishery. By accounting for the existence of subsets of the fishery (i.e. different target species),... [ view full abstract ]

Assessing satisfaction can be a valuable starting point for determining angler perceptions and needs in a recreational fishery. By accounting for the existence of subsets of the fishery (i.e. different target species), management approaches that cater to diverse groups can be developed. This study surveyed 422 anglers in the southern Lake Michigan fishery and compared satisfaction between anglers targeting salmonid species, anglers targeting yellow perch, and anglers targeting minor species. Several differences were found between the three groups; salmonid anglers had the highest overall harvest rate and yellow perch anglers had the highest target species harvest rate. For all anglers, catch-related variables were most relevant in predicting satisfaction, and the strongest predictor was number of fish biting. All three target species-specific regression models included number of fish biting, but they differed in the other variables that remained in the model produced by stepwise linear regression. Results suggest that salmonid anglers are the most diverse group and are divided in preference for particular salmonid species, yellow perch anglers are the most experienced and perhaps most dismayed with changes in the fishery, and minor species anglers are the most satisfied and have the fewest demands. These differing characteristics suggest different management approaches for each group. Finally, although satisfaction with harvest was highly correlated with overall satisfaction for all angler groups, there were few relationships between actual harvest and satisfaction, which suggests that angler perceptions may be more important than objective catch rates in this study site.