Do Anglers Know What They Catch? Identification Accuracy and Its Effect on Angler Survey‐Derived Catch Estimates

Abstract

Angler surveys are reliant on the ability of anglers to accurately report various aspects of their fishing trips. Misidentification of sport fishes has been postulated as a source of error among angler surveys but has received little attention. We evaluated the overall ability of anglers to identify sport fishes common to Ohio and the potential impacts on catch estimates derived from angler surveys. During angler surveys conducted on lakes and reservoirs (2007, n = 34) and Ohio River tailwaters (2010, n = 3), anglers were presented with artist‐rendered images of 18 different sport fishes common to these waters. Anglers (lake and reservoir, n = 2,442; Ohio River, n = 458) were asked to identify sport fish by their common name. On average, anglers correctly identified sport fishes 42% of the time, but accuracy varied widely among species (lake and reservoir, range = 4.4–85.1%; Ohio River, range = 9.4–71.8%), with greater accuracy exhibited for the most common species (e.g., largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides). However, by grouping angler responses into species groups (e.g., black bass Micropterus spp., sunfish Lepomis spp.) angler identification of sport fishes was more reliable (lake and reservoir, mean = 83.4%; Ohio River, mean = 83.8%). Using these estimates of angler accuracy, we simulated the potential error in sport fish catch estimates using data from an angler survey conducted at one Ohio reservoir. These results suggested that misidentification error may result in a substantial error in catch estimates. A survey of North American fisheries management agencies regarding angler surveys and angler sport fish identification revealed that the majority of agencies group similar species for analysis and cited species misidentification by anglers as the primary reason for doing so. Received April 19, 2012; accepted August 17, 2012

Catching sharks: recreational saltwater angler behaviours and attitudes regarding shark encounters and conservation

“…Respondents reported targeting 28 species of shark (Table ). Although the specificity in responses implies that the respondents know and are properly identifying the species they catch, it is very possible that there are cases of mistaken identification (Mallison and Cichra, ; Page et al ., ) especially with congeneric species of the genus Cacharhinus , several of which are difficult to distinguish from one another depending on life stage (Compagno, ).…”

“…Counts of the sharks targeted by respondents that fish for sharksPage et al, 2012) especially with congeneric species of the genus Cacharhinus, several of which are difficult to distinguish from one another depending on life stage…”

Catch and Release: The Effectiveness of an Educational Class for Anglers Caught with Fishing Citations

“…Correct identification of fish has been shown to be a critical knowledge gap among anglers (Page et al. ; Chizinski et al. ); this is also the case in South Florida, where many of the citations people receive are due to misidentifications of fish species.…”

“…The Fisheries Education Class is an effort to encourage change in angler behavior toward regulatory compliance and implementation of best fishing practices (Cooke et al 2013). The course curriculum aims to improve participants' knowledge of fishing regulations, tries to help them understand the biological basis for regulations, and presents material to help improve their fish identification skills (Page et al 2012). Ultimately, the goal of the class is to assist participants in better understanding the role that they play in fish population dynamics and the marine ecosystem.…”

“…Another important difference between the two programs is that the Fisheries Education Class included fish identification skills. Correct identification of fish has been shown to be a critical knowledge gap among anglers (Page et al 2012;Chizinski et al 2014); this is also the case in South Florida, where many of the citations people receive are due to misidentifications of fish species.…”