Presentation Abstract:

Changes in recreational angler attitudes towards, and awareness of, linefish management along the KwaZulu-Natal coast, South Africa

RW Kramer a, SW Dunlop b, BQ Mann b, JB Mann-Lang b & DV Robertson-Andersson a

a School of Biological Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private BagX54001, Durban, 4000, South Africa

b Oceanographic Research Institute, PO Box 10712, Marine Parade, 4056, South Africa

Fisheries management is about managing the people, not the fish. Management of recreational fisheries cannot only be based on biological and stock assessment data, but needs to include the dynamic socio-economic aspects and attitudes of the anglers within the fishery. In order for fisheries regulations to achieve sustainable use of fish resources, management strategies must incorporate information on how the fishermen respond to these regulations and understand what drives their behaviour. Without regular assessment of the dynamics of both fish and fishermen, management can become compromised. Two independent snap-shot monitoring surveys were conducted on the KwaZulu-Natal marine recreational shore fishery between 1994-1996 and 2008-2009. These formed part of an envisioned national programme to evaluate and re-evaluate the linefishery and its management along the South African coastline. Whilst the baseline socio-economic information collected from these two surveys have been used to assess certain aspects of the shoreline fishery in KZN, there has yet to be any detailed evaluation done to understand the relationship between angler demographics, attitudes and behaviour, and the institutional and legislative changes occurring in South Africa during and between these two periods. These surveys provide a unique opportunity to assess anglers attitudes towards management, including their support for or against current management regulations, their knowledge of regulations for certain fish species, and whether anglers fish less often nowadays than before and for what reasons. Overall there has been an increase in the attitude of anglers regarding the effectiveness of management regulations; however there were low levels of compliance and knowledge of regulations by anglers shown in both surveys. The information derived from this comparison can provide important insights into how to improve communication with recreational fishermen to enable more informed and effective management in the future.