Fishing regulations represent a predominant tool used by fisheries agencies to manage fisheries. Regulations can address biological, economic, and/or social goals, and are applied to a wide variety of systems. Given the prevalence with which fisheries agencies use this management tool, there is great value in improving our assessment and understanding of conditions that influence the success of regulations. To begin, we conducted a literature review to document when sportfishing regulations have been evaluated and to determine if consistent effects have been observed. A search of peer-reviewed literature since 1995 found only 42 pertinent citations, including model simulations and field tests of regulations. Our review indicated that much uncertainty remains in the literature regarding sportfishing regulation effects. While 81% of the simulations predicted that a proposed regulation would have an effect, only 48% of field tests documented an effect; very rarely were simulation projections and field tests performed on the same fishery. Given the paucity of synthetic reviews and the lack of evidence for regulations successfully achieving their goals, we believe there is a need for more discussion.
This symposium will address our current understanding of the effectiveness, consistency, and uncertainty of implementing angling regulations. We will present the results of an expanded literature review and solicit talks by fisheries professionals covering a diverse geographic and taxonomic range of sportfisheries. Our objective is to bring our collective uncertainty into the light and stimulate a productive discussion centered on the questions:
What are the most important goals of sportfishing regulations?
What should we be measuring to evaluate sportfishing regulation efficacy?
What lessons have been learned from notable evaluation efforts?
Can prediction of regulation effects (simulations) and measuring regulation effects (field tests) be better integrated?
How do fishing regulations affect the value of the fishery and ecosystem to the public?
