Abstract

As fisheries management continually strives to define and actualize more holistic management strategies, an understanding of social outcomes and potential inequalities is essential. In shore-based fisheries, shoreline condition is of particular importance with implications for social equity, including social costs and benefits of fishing opportunities, outcomes, and management. While information on fishing behaviors is obtained through the Marine Recreational Information Program, little remains known about shore-based fisheries and the implications of shoreline condition. This research aims to examine the following questions: 1) does fishing effort and catch vary across shore typologies and socioeconomic status and 2) how do the social and ecological dynamics of shoreline fisheries intersect and are these dynamics socially equitable? To answer these questions, we collected 105 creel intercept surveys with recreational shore-fishers in Key West, Florida from June to August of 2019 to assess angler-specific fishing trip information and fishing behavior. Preliminary data analysis shows that tourists have higher satisfaction with access and catch for shore-fishing than residents, as locals talk of a decreased abundance of site access through time. Of all respondents, 48.57% listed a barrier that prevented or discouraged them from shore-fishing where they would like, and of those, 52.94% listed access regulations as a barrier. Further, satisfaction is much lower for those fishing for food or subsistence than those fishing for recreation. Advances in the literature have called for greater inclusion of social impact assessments as knowledge gaps have led to data uncertainties in stock assessment. This research addresses these gaps to gain a better understanding of spatial variation and social equity in shore-based fisheries.

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