Perceptions of Recreational Fisheries Conservation within the Angling Industry: Knowledge Gaps and Learning Opportunities

The recreational angling community is comprised of diverse stakeholders, including the trade sector responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of tackle, boats, and clothing, angler-based travel, and revenue-generating popular media.  This sector helps facilitate recreational angling by providing the tools to catch fish, assisting anglers in becoming more successful at catching fish, enhancing the overall angling experience, and stimulating interest in this popular leisure activity.  Through marketing, the trade sector may also play an important role in conservation of recreational fisheries via the display of best practices.  In some cases, the sector has also developed and marketed specific tools intended to benefit fish conservation (e.g., various de-hooking devices, livewell conditioners, recovery bags).  For this study we surveyed individuals in the recreational fishing trade sector to determine what they perceived as conservation concerns and where they believe their consumers learn about these issues.  Through this survey we identified gaps in knowledge related to basic fish biology and ecology, as well as dominant issues influencing recreationally targeted fish populations.  The trade sector would appear to be an important mechanism for reaching anglers but more work is needed to ensure that the practices they share are consistent with science-based best practice.