Anglers and Marine Protected Areas: Bridging Public Perceptions and Fisheries Management
The success of various fishery management approaches heavily depends on the participation, investment, and perceptions of stakeholders like anglers, conservation groups, scientists, managers, and the general public. Commercial and recreational anglers, in particular, can make or break conservation efforts like marine protected areas (MPAs).
As extractive users, anglers rely on fisheries for recreation and income, so any regulations instituted in the fishery could impact this industry. As a result, anglers and conservation groups have a complex history in which they seem to be at odds over what is best.
While standard fishing regulations and restrictions are one example, the implementation of designated MPAs has also led to pushback from various fishing groups.
Why are Anglers and Fishery Managers at Odds over Marine Protected Areas?
First, extractive users who rely on the fishery know that the creation of these zones will impact their maritime activities. While not all MPAs mean total spatial closures (meaning no fishing is permitted in that zone), even increased regulations can impact what they take home at the end of the day, according to Sustainable Fisheries.
Essentially, MPAs give anglers fewer options on where they can go fishing and can make catching highly sought-after fish in these zones more difficult.
One angler interviewed by Sustainable Fisheries shared that another issue with the closures is that, depending on the zone, guidelines vary, and some fishing may be allowed while others are restricted. This inequality excludes some anglers while others may continue fishing in the area.
Of course, the flip side of that would be a No Take Zone, which prohibits all fishing ventures in the areas and is also contested.
Why are Marine Protected Areas Used in Fisheries?
While the implementation of MPAs is contentious, anglers who rely on the fishery seem to broadly understand why they are necessary. Ultimately, folks who live near and off of fisheries seem to be on the same page about something needing to be done about overfishing and the impact on habitat, and MPAs are part of the solution.
MPAs limit the fishing burden on a specific area, giving time for the ecosystem to recover when it has been heavily fished or otherwise damaged by maritime activities and pollution. MPAs are meant to be implemented in tandem with other regulations and conservation strategies in order to yield the most success.
Barriers to Successful Implementation of Marine Protected Areas
As with other fisheries management strategies, MPAs can only be successful if all stakeholders involved are invested in them working. Otherwise, poor compliance and disruptive activities can impact the effectiveness of MPAs.
Part of ensuring that extractive users support efforts is including them in fisheries research, considering and listening to their needs when creating management plans, and effectively communicating strategies and reasoning to the public.
A 2024 study published in Frontiers in Marine Science found that the involvement of anglers in fisheries research led to more positive perceptions of MPAs.
Additionally, the inclusion of anglers helped research run more smoothly as the anglers shared extensive local knowledge ranging from species’ habitat use to preferred tackle types and even stock status assertions, all of which can be key to successful study design.
Conclusion
The inclusion of anglers in the research process from the beginning to the end allows for greater transparency between anglers and researchers as well as greater trust between the groups. Ultimately, the results of the study revealed that this increased trust between the two groups led to more positive perceptions of MPAs and, in return, greater compliance.
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