Bio-economic Outcomes under Alternative Management Strategies with Human Choice and Behavior: Modeling Tautog and Anglers\u27 Preferences

Key findings There was relatively strong support for slot limits, and roughly comparable support for status quo management, among anglers fishing for Tautog in Long Island Sound. Respondents were not in favor of a total moratorium on fishing for Tautog. Providing survey respondents information on how different management scenarios will affect fishing in the future had little detectable impact on fishing preferences. Respondents expected to fish less in the future if a wide slot limit is imposed or if status quo management is maintained, but expected no change in effort if a narrow slot limit is imposed. Changes in regulations are likely to cause an increase in noncompliance, to the extent that 10%-20% of anglers may retain fish outside of a harvest slot or smaller than an increased minimum size limit. Six groups with distinctive preferences and demographic features can be identified among respondents. These include a class that prefers status quo management (the largest group consisting of 29% of respondents), three classes of slot supporters (together representing 45%), one that favors an early season (11.7%), and one that prefers a larger minimum size (14%)