Marine Park Planning and Recreational Fishing: Is the Science Lost at Sea? Case Studies from Australia

Abstract

No take" marine parks are widely advocated and increasingly utilised as a tool aimed at protecting marine biodiversity, and they may also be used as a fisheries management tool. In Australia a national system of no-take marine parks is being established to protect marine biodiversity. The creation of this network of no-take marine parks that exclude the public from recreational fishing in large areas of the ocean is extremely contentious. Nearly one quarter of the Australian population goes recreational fishing at least once a year, and it is a $2 billion industry. The motivations for, and aspirations of these recreational anglers are extremely diverse. While there is a clearly documented and accepted need to engage stakeholders through consultation and participation, there has been little focus in considering how the marine science associated with marine parks is communicated to, and interpreted by, recreational fishers. It is generally presented as value neutral information when in fact it can be demonstrated to frequently be value laden and the underlying values are increasingly inconsistent with many recreational fishers' observations of the natural environment which they interact with. The application of marine science in the context of marine parks has significant social and economic impact, and it is contested that these impacts are rarely understood clearly by most scientists active within the discipline, however views on them are offered that are frequently unchallenged by decision makers. In this paper, a number of Australian marine park case studies from urban and rural areas are used to examine identified contentions in detail. Potential solutions to challenges and contentions that have been encountered are presented.

Communication between scientists, fishery managers and recreational fishers: lessons learned from a comparative analysis of international case studies

“…In essence, this suggests that effective fisheries management is a matter of how successfully people who participate in the fisheries sector collaborate with each other to achieve particular goals (Quinn 1992;Radomski 2003). If the above are accepted, then it is fair to state that while it is important for people involved in the management of fisheries resources to have technical skills, it is also important for them to have people skills (Pinkerton 1994;Ehrlich 2002;Delaney & Murray 2002;McPhee 2011). The catalysts for developing and implementing these people skills can take diverse forms.…”

“…A growing body of literature recognises that numerous benefits accrue from including stakeholders in fisheries management decisions using formal participatory processes (Johnson & Martinez 1995;Hatcher et al 2000;Kennelly & Broadhurst 2002;Waterton & Ellis 2006;Granek et al 2008;Policanski 2008;Ihde et al 2011;McPhee 2011;Stenekes & Sahlqvist 2011). However, there is little systematic application of scientific knowledge about the factors promoting public participation or other deliberative processes in natural resource management (Schusler et al 2003).…”

Recreational Fishing Impacts in an Offshore and Deep-Water Marine Park: Examining Patterns in Fished Species Using Hybrid Frequentist Model Selection and Bayesian Inference

“…Distance to the nearest boat ramp was found to be a strong predictor for the abundance of fished species indicating a clear footprint of recreational fishing across the NMP-Commonwealth. Generally, recreational fishing in deeper, offshore waters is poorly understood in Australia, with much of the recreational fishing and research effort concentrated in estuaries and inshore areas (Mcphee, 2011). In particular, the way in which data is collected for recreational fishing in WA makes it difficult to disaggregate recreational catch estimates at the scale of either State or Commonwealth MPs (Lynch et al, 2020b), presenting difficulties for estimating its impact on fish populations in Commonwealth waters.…”