Catch Inequality in a Trout Stream: Analysis of Long-Term Trends with Implications for Fisheries Management

Catch inequality occurs when a small proportion of anglers catch a disproportionately large number of fish.  Prior research has shown catch per unit effort to decline when catch inequality increases, but long-term changes in catch inequality are rarely studied. We evaluated catch inequality in long-term complete-trip creel census records from a trout stream in southeastern New York. Inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient, was evaluated between-anglers and-between trips. Between-angler inequality is the difference in average catch between anglers owing to differences in skill and catching power. Between-trip inequality represents the trip-to-trip variability in catch that is heavily influenced by environmental stochasticity. Catch per unit effort declined significantly during the twenty year study period. The decline in catch per unit effort was likely related to increased water temperature and low water levels due to drought and beaver activity. Between-trip inequality increased significantly through time, but between-angler inequality did not change significantly. Hence, the distribution of catch due to skill or gear remained relatively constant during the study period even though the makeup of the angling population changed greatly. Our analysis indicated that less successful anglers were not disproportionately affected when the quality of the fishery declined, and the ratio of between-angler to between-trip inequality may be used to evaluate changing catch per unit effort.  We conclude that measurements of catch inequality may provide low-cost indications of drivers of change in recreational fishing quality.