Temporal and regional variation in catch across an extensive coastal recreational fishery: Exploring the utility of survey methods to guide and assess spatio-temporal management initiatives

Abstract

As global research into recreational fishing gains momentum due to the pursuit’s biological, social and economic impacts, information on regional and temporal patterns of recreational exploitation will continue to enable objective assessment and development of management initiatives for exploited species. This paper demonstrates the utility of offsite survey methods in assessing spatial and temporal differences in recorded catches from a large, diffuse and heterogenous coastal recreational fishery. Using the estuarine recreational fishery that operates along the coast of New South Wales, Australia as a case study, survey data was employed to quantify annual (June 2013-May 2014) state-wide estuarine catch. Generalized linear mixed effects models were then applied to expanded catch estimates from surveyed households to examine the influence of zone and season on the kept and released numbers of snapper (Pagrus auratus), dusky flathead (Platycephalus fuscus) and bream (Acanthopagrus spp. complex comprised of A. butcheri, A. australis and their hybrids). For kept bream, significant differential seasonal effects were observed in all regions except the Mid-South Coast. For released bream, numbers were greatest in Sydney and during Summer and Winter. For kept snapper, the greatest harvest was recorded in the Mid-South Coast but season had no effect. Differential seasonal effects were found in each zone for released snapper. For kept dusky flathead, the greatest numbers were recorded in Sydney and the Mid-South Coast but season had no effect. We conclude by assessing some current spatial and temporal management initiatives in light of the uncovered patterns of recreational catch and consider the implications of these patterns in terms of future ecosystem-based management recommendations aimed at achieving ecological, social and economic sustainability in fisheries.

Interannual variation in a freshwater recreational fishery under the influence of drought, bushfires, floods and a global pandemic

“…This phase was conducted as a structured telephone interview of a randomly selected sample of 1-3-year licence holders listed within the NSW Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL) database (Murphy et al 2020(Murphy et al , 2022. The shortcomings of broad-scale offsite surveys that rely on fisher-based databases such as the RFL are discussed in Taylor and Ryan (2020) and Ochwada-Doyle et al (2021). They include reliance on a sample that is dominated by moderate and highly avid fishers, rather than those who only fish a few times per year.…”

“…In the Australian jurisdictions of New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), off-site surveys are regularly used to track spatio-temporal patterns of recreational fishing activity (Ochwada-Doyle et al 2021;Murphy et al 2022). The freshwater systems of these jurisdictions are primarily recreational-only (Forbes et al 2020; NSW Department of Primary Industries 2020) and support ~26% of the study area's total recreational fishing effort (West et al 2015;Murphy et al 2020Murphy et al , 2022, making the surveys a vital fisheries-monitoring tool.…”

Exploring spatio-temporal changes in coastal recreational fisheries and potential links to extreme weather events

“…In the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), off-site telephone/diary surveys have been implemented over the last decade to track spatio-temporal patterns of recreational fishing activity [24,25]. NSW is home to the nation's greatest number of recreational fishers, with participation rates of approximately 11.9% [21,26].…”

“…Furthermore, both species are predominantly captured using line-based fishing in NSW [24,31]. Since the extent of the extreme weather events in question was not spatially homogenous and recreational activity in NSW has been shown to vary spatially [25,35], this study also examines whether coarse spatial interactions occurred with temporal patterns of recreational fishing. This research explores how interrelated ecological, social and economic drivers can potentially shape coastal marine recreational fisheries in a rapidly changing world.…”