Abstract

Most states and some nations conduct surveys of resident anglers in support of their public trust responsibilities for marine recreational fisheries management. Their goal is to know as much about these users of fishery resources as they do fishery resources themselves. With highly migratory species such as bilIfish, this is virtually impossible because anglers as well as fish know no boundaries. As a result, best available means must be found to sample the universe of bilIfish anglers. At the 1988 International Billfish Symposium, Fedler and Ditlon (1990) reported there was little social and economic information specific lo bilIfishing and that problems surrounded currently available data and their use. They called for a research program funded mostly by non-governmental organizations lo better understand the size and distribution of the bilIfish angler constituency and its economics vis-a-vis the commercial fishery. This paper will summarize and critique the extent of social and economic research on billfish angling completed oyer the past ten years as a result of these efforts and discuss implications for fisheries deyelopment in the Gulf and Caribbean. It wiII also conclude with recommendations and a new research agenda to guide future efforts.

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