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The Effect of Illegal Harvest on Recreational Fisheries
Author(s) -
Gigliotti Larry M.,
Taylor William W.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8675(1990)010<0106:teoiho>2.3.co;2
Subject(s) - catch and release , fishery , fishing , salmo , micropterus , recreational fishing , trout , esox , poaching , fish <actinopterygii> , pike , biology , ecology , wildlife
The degree of compliance with a fishing regulation can have a significant impact on the regulation's effectiveness. In this paper, we use a yield‐per‐recruit simulation model to evaluate the effect of poaching on legal harvest in sport fisheries. Two types of illegal harvest were considered: harvest of fish below the legal size limit and harvest of fish from catch‐and‐release fisheries. The results depict the degree of reduction in legal harvest in minimum‐size fisheries with 0‐100% (in 10% increments) illegal harvest. For brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis , the reduction in legal harvest ranged from 11% at 10% illegal harvest to 72% at 100% illegal harvest; these reductions ranged from 10 to 66% for northern pike Esox lucius , 8 to 57% for brown trout Salmo trutta , and 2 to 22% for largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides . In catch‐and‐release fisheries, illegal harvest reduces the number offish caught and released. Most ofthe benefits ofcatch‐and‐release regulations, in terms of increased numbers and sizes of fish, are lost when approximately 20% of large‐sized fish (i.e., fish that would be legal in a minimum‐size fishery) are harvested illegally. When all sizes of fish that can be caught by the fishing gear are illegally harvested, the benefits of the catch‐and‐release regulation are lost when illegal harvest reaches approximately 15%.