Understanding How Angler Characteristics and Context Influence Angler Preferences for Fishing Sites

Understanding angler heterogeneity is critical for fisheries managers to be able to develop management approaches that minimize stress to fish and aquatic ecosystems while maximizing benefits to anglers. We used a stated-preference choice model of British Columbia, Canada, anglers to predict their behavioral intentions to fish at lakes described by catch-related and non-catch-related attributes, such as expected catch and travel distance. We investigated how different means of accounting for preference heterogeneity and decision context affected conclusions about angler preferences for fishing sites. Our preferred model of fishing site choice accounted for both observable and unobservable (to the researcher) preference heterogeneity for site attributes, angler characteristics (i.e., recreation specialization and residence), and context (i.e., trip duration and target species). On average, anglers' preferences conformed to expectations, but preferences for different site attributes varied greatly among anglers and contexts. For example, highly specialized anglers were more influenced by catch rates, fish size, and bag limits and were less deterred by travel than were less-specialized anglers. Anglers facing multiple-day trip contexts were influenced more by fish size and bag limits than were anglers considering day fishing trips. This latter result is especially important, as researchers often estimate models of angler behaviors by excluding anglers that undertake multiple-day trips, who might be the most sensitive to changes in regulations and fishing quality characteristics.