Premium
Angler Opinions Regarding Management Options to Balance Open‐Water and Ice Fishing Effort in Maine
Author(s) -
Teisl Mario F.,
Boyle Kevin J.,
Fenderson Owen C.
Publication year - 1993
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(1993)013<0353:aormot>2.3.co;2
Subject(s) - fishing , fishery , open water , business , fisheries management , geography , biology
We studied angler opinions regarding management options to apportion open‐water and ice fishing effort in Maine, We found resident anglers favored policies seeking an even distribution of opportunity and harvest between open‐water and ice fishing. Nonresidents, over 90% of whom fish only open water in Maine, clearly preferred management options favoring open‐water fishing. These results suggest that fisheries managers may want to enhance open‐water fishing opportunities, at the expense of ice fishing, on bodies of water that attract the largest number of nonresident anglers in order to bring tourism dollars into the state, Such actions, however, should not be undertaken at the expense of resident anglers, who make up the largest proportion of the angling public and who are the anglers with the greatest opportunities to influence management policies.