Knowledge Gaps and Management Priorities for Recreational Fisheries in the Developing World

Shannon D. Bower, Øystein Aas, Robert Arlinghaus, T. Douglas Beard, Ian G. Cowx, Andy J. Danylchuk, Kátia M.F. Freire, Warren M. Potts, Stephen G. Sutton, Steven J. Cooke

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

24 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Millions of individuals worldwide rely on recreational fishing activities for leisure, food, and employment. Recreational fishing is the dominant freshwater fisheries sector in much of the highly developed world and plays a growing role in the marine realm, but in developing countries recreational fisheries occur within a different set of contextual conditions. Little is currently known about attributes of the recreational fishing sector in many developing countries. A survey of fisheries experts designed to identify knowledge gaps surrounding recreational fishery development was conducted to gather information on fishery attributes in developing countries. These surveys were supplemented with a review of relevant literature. Results show that recreational fishing is socially important and is expected to grow in most countries surveyed. Recreational fisheries were described as mainly consumption oriented in these regions. Most often, nonresident tourists used marine waters and resident recreational fishers used fresh waters. There was strong agreement among respondents on the need to address data deficiencies. The knowledge gaps and management needs identified can support international bodies and recreational fishing organizations (such as the regional fisheries bodies of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, and local and international fishing associations) to support sustainable development and management of the global recreational fisheries sector.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)518-535
Number of pages18
JournalReviews in Fisheries Science and Aquaculture
Volume28
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 1 2020
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Bower was supported by Too Big to Ignore (TBTI), the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship fund during this project while a graduate student at Carleton University. Freire acknowledges the support of an Estágio Sênior CAPES Fellowship (n. 99999.005773/2015-06). Cooke is supported by the Canada Research Chairs program, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council, TBTI and SSHRC. These funding sources do not lend themselves to any conflicts of interest, nor did they influence interpretation in any way. Any use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Due to the anonymous nature of the survey, it is not possible to share this data on open access platforms, but any data-related queries are welcome and can be directed to the corresponding author. The authors would like to thank all of the survey participants for sharing their knowledge and expertise of recreational fisheries in their respective countries. Their views contributed greatly to understanding this global sector and their engagement was much appreciated.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Aquatic Science
  • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

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