Volume 49

Understanding Catch and Release Behavior Among Billfish Anglers


Authors
Graefe, A.R.; Ditton, R.B.
Download PDF Open PDF in Browser

Other Information


Date: November, 1996


Pages: 430-455


Event: Proceedings of the Forty-Nine Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute


City: Christ Church


Country: Barbados

Abstract

Increasingly, catch and release is an emerging trend in billfish angling in Gulf and Caribbean waters. This paper examines the catch and release behavior of billfish anglers in an effort to understand the best predictors of release behavior. Data come from two studies of billfish tournament anglers, one involving participants in 27 billiish tournaments hosted along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico in the United States, and the other involving registrants in 14 Puerto Rican billfish tournaments. Sampled anglers in each study received a mail questionnaire which included questions on motivations, attitudes, opinions on management, fishing behavior patterns, and angler characteristics. Predictive models of catch-release behavior were developed using logistic regression and ordinary least squares regression analyses. Results showed that 62% of the billfish anglers reported returning all of the bilfish they caught during the previous 12 months, with the remaining 38% keeping at least one billfish. The best predictors of releasing all billtish caught were the number of trips targeting billfish and the number of tournaments entered (the more trips and tournaments, the more likely one was to keep at least one billtish), geography (anglers in the Puerto Rican tournaments were more likely to keep billfish), and income (the greater the income, the less likely to keep billfish). In predicting the number of billfish kept (which ranged from none to 25) income was the strongest predictor. It was noteworthy that level of formal education showed no relationship with keeping or releasing billfish. Club membership, on the other hand, contributed to releasing behavior as members of fishing conservation organizations were significantly more likely to release all of their billfish catch. Implications for fisheries management, tourism development, and educational efforts in the Gulf and Caribbean are highlighted.

PDF Preview