Understanding the Fish Harvesting Decisions by Anglers

This paper examined whether angling catch behaviors, angler characteristics, and angler evaluations could explain the decisions by anglers to harvest caught fish. Particularly, we determined if the propensity of tourist anglers to harvest caught walleye ( Stizostedion vitreum ), northern pike ( Esox lucius ), and smallmouth bass ( Micropterus Dolomieui ) was related to variables that measured catch rates, angling effort, catch rates for substitute fish species, motivational item importance, and/or social group variables. The results showed that catch rates and angling effort were essential for explaining anglers' decisions to harvest caught fish. Although explaining much less of the variation in the harvest behavior among anglers, the results also showed that standard concepts of human dimensions research such as substitution, motivation, and social groups were statistically related to the decisions of harvesting caught fish by anglers.