In 2006, IFREMER, with the help of the polling institute BVA, implemented a national pilot study of recreational fishing. Taking into account all the different fishing methods, from shellfish gathering to offshore angling, including spear-fishing, this study was designed to provide estimates of (i) the number of recreational fishers in France, (ii) recreational fishing effort; (iii) catches and landings; (iv) the economic impacts of recreational fishing, and to develop a classification of recreational fishers. A two-part method was adopted: a random-digit-dialing (RDD) survey combined with an on-site survey. The data collected from telephone and on-site surveys were compared and then used in combination to provide a reliable estimate of this growing activity in France. Recreational fishers are estimated at around 2.5 million, with the total catch estimated at 24,000 t of fish and 3100 t of shellfish. Fishing expenditure was estimated at between 1200 and 2000 million euros.

The nationwide assessment of marine recreational fishing: A French example

Marine recreational fisheries (MRF) have important social and economic benefits, but can impact fish stocks and the environment. The diverse and dispersed nature of these fisheries makes them challenging to study; a lack of data has made it more difficult to include them in fisheries management and the varied motivations of fishers makes their response to management measures hard to predict. Research into MRF is growing rapidly, so this themed article set aims to bring together MRF research to highlight the current evidence base and identify future opportunities. New survey methods were presented alongside analyses of existing data, which highlighted issues with methods, reconstruction of missing data, and factors influencing catch and effort. The manuscripts demonstrated the biological and economic impacts of MRF, and its self-subsidizing nature was recognized. Novel approaches for management, including improving compliance, were identified. Finally, the lack of funding for MRF was highlighted. Key research gaps are: Governance that embeds MRF in fisheries management; integration of novel approaches and traditional surveys; risk-based approaches to identify impacts; understanding fish welfare; management that balances economic, social, and biological impacts and allows allocation between sectors; and understanding social benefits and their impacts on management and compliance.

Marine recreational fisheries — current state and future opportunities

The Ningaloo coast of north-western Australia (eastern Indian Ocean) hosts one of
 the world's longest and most extensive fringing coral reef systems, along with
 globally significant abundances of large marine fauna such as whale sharks. These
 characteristics – which have contributed to its inscription on the World Heritage
 list – exist because of the unique climatic, geomorphologic and oceanographic
 conditions. The region is hot and arid, so runoff of water from land is low,
 facilitating clear water that allows corals to grow close to the shore. The
 poleward-flowing Leeuwin Current is an important influence, bringing warm water
 and generally suppressing coastal upwelling. During the austral summer, strong
 southerly winds generate the equatorward-flowing Ningaloo Current on the inner
 shelf – this current facilitates sporadic upwelling events that enhance
 concentrations of nutrients, which in turn enhance pelagic primary productivity
 that supports the reef's biota. The coast has experienced several marine heatwaves
 since 2011 that have caused mortality of corals and probably seagrass, albeit
 relatively less than elsewhere along the coast. Wind-generated surface waves break
 over the fringing reef crest, causing cooling currents that tend to dampen warming
 – although this mechanism seems not to have prevented some areas from experiencing
 damaging heat, and corals in places that do not receive the wave-generated
 currents have experienced substantial mortality. Herbivores, from fish to green
 turtles, are abundant, and in the lagoon, extensive stands of large brown algae
 provide an important habitat for newly recruited fish. There has been a decline in
 abundance of some fish. Predictions of future pressures include a weaker but more
 variable Leeuwin Current and increased human use. The ability of Ningaloo's
 144ecosystems to withstand
 growing pressures will depend partly on the rate and magnitude of global warming
 but also on actions that manage local pressures from increasing human use. These
 actions will rely on continued science to provide the evidence needed to identify
 the pressures, the changes they create and the ways that we can mitigate them.

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The oceanography and marine ecology of Ningaloo, a World Heritage Area

Winds, waves, warm waters, weekdays, and which ways boats are counted influence predicted visitor use at an offshore fishing destination

As global research into recreational fishing gains momentum due to the pursuit's biological, social and economic impacts, information on regional and temporal patterns of recreational exploitation will continue to enable objective assessment and development of management initiatives for exploited species. This paper demonstrates the utility of offsite survey methods in assessing spatial and temporal differences in recorded catches from a large, diffuse and heterogenous coastal recreational fishery. Using the estuarine recreational fishery that operates along the coast of New South Wales, Australia as a case study, survey data was employed to quantify annual (June 2013-May 2014) state-wide estuarine catch. Generalized linear mixed effects models were then applied to expanded catch estimates from surveyed households to examine the influence of zone and season on the kept and released numbers of snapper (Pagrus auratus), dusky flathead (Platycephalus fuscus) and bream (Acanthopagrus spp. complex comprised of A. butcheri, A. australis and their hybrids). For kept bream, significant differential seasonal effects were observed in all regions except the Mid-South Coast. For released bream, numbers were greatest in Sydney and during Summer and Winter. For kept snapper, the greatest harvest was recorded in the Mid-South Coast but season had no effect. Differential seasonal effects were found in each zone for released snapper. For kept dusky flathead, the greatest numbers were recorded in Sydney and the Mid-South Coast but season had no effect. We conclude by assessing some current spatial and temporal management initiatives in light of the uncovered patterns of recreational catch and consider the implications of these patterns in terms of future ecosystem-based management recommendations aimed at achieving ecological, social and economic sustainability in fisheries.

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Temporal and regional variation in catch across an extensive coastal recreational fishery: Exploring the utility of survey methods to guide and assess spatio-temporal management initiatives.

Recreational fishing is popular in Australia and is managed by individual states in consultation with the Commonwealth for those fisheries that they regulate and also for Australian Marine Parks (AMPs). Fishers regularly access both state and offshore Commonwealth waters but this offshore component of the recreational fishery is poorly understood. Our study tested the functionality of existing state-based surveys in Western Australia (WA) and New South Wales (NSW) to better inform Commonwealth fisheries and AMP managers about recreational fishing in their jurisdictions. Catch estimates for nine species of interest to the Commonwealth were developed and two case study AMPs [Ningaloo (WA) and The Hunter (NSW)] were also chosen to test the ability of the state survey data to be disaggregated to the park scale. As each state’s fishery survey designs were contextual to their own management needs, the application of the data to Commonwealth jurisdictions were limited by their statistical power, however aspects of each states surveys still provided useful information. Continued evolution of state-wide survey methods, including collection of precise spatial data, and regional over-sampling would be beneficial, particularly where there are multiple stakeholder and jurisdictional interests. National coordination, to temporally align state surveys, would also add value to the existing approaches.

A cross continental scale comparison of Australian offshore recreational fisheries research and its applications to Marine Park and fisheries management

When monitoring marine recreational fishers at sub-bio-regional scales—for example those who are accessing a Marine Park—on-site sampling is often required. This poses various logistical challenges, such as the efficient timing of intercept interviews. Here, we examine these challenges, combining trail cameras, closed-circuit television (CCTV), weather stations, and interviews at boat ramps that bracket an offshore Marine Park. Trail camera results were similar to those from a CCTV system co-located at one of the boat ramps. Fishers’ boat launches peaked early, but return times varied considerably by ramp and weather. Both the numbers of launches and trip durations were strongly responsive to good weather, particularly at ramps used for offshore fishing. Weather was a more important factor to predict the likelihood of intercept interview opportunities than holiday period, which may reflect changing dynamics in work culture and improvements in weather prediction. Interviewed fishers reported preferences to individual ramps over the fishing season and nearly all trips to the Marine Park were reported by fishers accessing just one ramp. The strong relationships between fishing, weather, and ramp, observed by the trail camera and correlated with the weather station data, may allow for the efficient targeting of intercept interviews and potentially the modelling of fishing effort.

Trail camera video systems: investigating their utility in interpreting patterns of marine, recreational, trailer-boat fishers’ access to an offshore Marine Park in differing weather conditions

C Devine

Papers

A cross continental scale comparison of Australian offshore recreational fisheries research and its applications to Marine Park and fisheries management

Trail camera video systems: investigating their utility in interpreting patterns of marine, recreational, trailer-boat fishers’ access to an offshore Marine Park in differing weather conditions