Applying and advancing established and emergent concepts used in studies of recreational fishers : the case of the Tasmanian game fishery

The overarching aim of this dissertation was to augment emerging areas of research on human dimensions of recreational fisheries through socioeconomic studies of Tasmanian game fishers. A secondary objective was to develop an advanced understanding of Tasmanian game fishers in order to inform the management of the fishery. Largely quantitative socioeconomic data were collected through two mail questionnaires, a telephone administered diary survey and a 'supplementary' telephone survey. The study specifically addressed four areas of research. First, heterogeneity among fishers was explored according to anglers' levels of recreational specialisation by developing an index measuring three specialisation sub-dimensions — behaviour, commitment and skills and knowledge. Three specialisation groups were identified using cluster analysis and compared using standard statistical techniques. Anglers' levels of specialisation were significantly related to mode of fishery access, income, fishing club membership, species preference, conservation orientation, activity-specific and activity-general motivations, attitudes to catching large/trophy fish and attitudes to catching particular types of fish. Second, socioeconomic characteristics were compared between private boat and charter boat fishers using standard statistical techniques. Applying specialisation results as a 'filter', significant differences between the two groups were classified as either specialisation-mediated or specialisation-independent. Included in the former were income and fishing club membership; the latter consisted of age, frequency of fishing with family based groups, activity-general motivations, attitudes to catching large fish and many fish, and attitudes to management. Angling groups also differed according to time spent on fishing trips, educational and employment status, catch history and non-game fishing activity; however, no reference to specialisation was determined. Third, building on the work of Sutton (2001), the effects of personal and situational variables on voluntary fish release behaviour were explored using logistic regression analyses. For private and charter boat fishers, the odds of voluntarily releasing a fish were positively related to the skills and knowledge dimension of specialisation, the number of fish caught on a trip and prior fishing activity during a fishing season. For private boat fishers, significant predictors included avidity, attitudes to catching fish and tournament participation. Situational variables had a higher predictive capacity than personal variables. Fourth, an iterative bidding contingent valuation methodology was employed to determine whether resource valuation ascribed by private boat fishers was influenced by harvest orientation and/or by sub-dimensions of specialisation. Using multiple linear regression models, fishers' willingness to pay (above what they had already spent) for seasonal fishery access was significantly related to avidity, income, the number of fish caught during the season and fishers' levels of agreement with promoting catch and release fishing. Finally, various implications of the results for the management of the fisheries were discussed, and future research needs were identified