Accounting for heterogeneous angler behaviours in integrated fish-angler simulation models designed to analyse the social-ecological outcomes of management interventions

Human behavior constitutes a dynamic component of social-ecological fisheries systems. It is important to account for the adaptive behavior of resource users if managers want to analyse the possible outcomes of management... [ view full abstract ]

Human behavior constitutes a dynamic component of social-ecological fisheries systems. It is important to account for the adaptive behavior of resource users if managers want to analyse the possible outcomes of management interventions. We present two applications of coupled social-ecological models of recreational fisheries where the adaptive behavior of natural resource users is modelled based on results from stated choice experiments that account for trade-offs among a range of attributes that guide fishing decisions. In one application, the landscape-level behavior of heterogeneous anglers is simulated in terms of their movement across a large family of fisheries. The model suggests that lack of accounting of heterogeneous anglers severely underestimated ecological impacts and recreational fishing. In the second example, a single fishery bio-economic model with heterogeneous angler is presented. The recreational fisheries simulator allow simulating fisheries, conservation, social and economic outcomes to be expected for a range of harvest regulations (minimum-length limits, harvest slots, bag limits) and stocking policies (which vary by amount and size of fish released), while accounting for the behavioural response of a heterogeneous angler population. The fish population ecology follows an age and size-structured population biology with multiple size- and density dependent feedback processes. The anglers simulated in the model follow a multi-attribute utility function calibrated to the behaviour of German anglers. The user of the simulation softare that is freely available on the internet can represent different angler types to understand the relevant of regulations and stocking for heterogeneous angler populations. The software offers parameter settings for a range of freshwater fish species that are either naturally recruiting or culture-based. The software can be used to compare the likely outcome of a range of harvest regulations and stocking policies against a set of management objectives. The innovation of both model is the explicit accounting of adaptive behavior of resource users, thereby linking human dimensions of natural science within an adaptive management framework.