Abstract

There is little social and economic information specific to billfish angling. To learn about billfish anglers in Puerto Rico, a Spanish version of a mail questionnaire was sent to a sample of Commonwealth residents who participated in one or more billfish tournaments held there in 1991-1992. Results showed billfish anglers were more likely male, better educated, had higher household incomes, and fished twice as frequently as saltwater anglers in general. Forty percent of the anglers accounted for a disproportionate share of total fishing days (72%). Overall, billfish anglers demonstrated a high level of appreciation fOl both catch and non-catch elements of the sport fishing experience. There was higher within-group agreement on the importance of other fishing behaviors than just catching and retaining big fish. Likewise, there was diversity of opinion on the importance of catching "something," retention of all fish caught, and measuring trip success by number of fish caught. Whereas most anglers strongly opposed handlining for billfish, less than a majority supported each of the remaining nine management options presented. Results were generally consistent with what would have been expected from recreation specialization theory. This group of billfish anglers would appear to be located toward the high specialization end of the total continuum of saltwater anglers. While more homogeneous than a sample of saltwater anglers, some within-group heterogeneity exists, perhaps attributable to cultural differences.

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