There are over 700,000 recreational fishers in Western Australia, yet there’s still a lot scientists don’t know about how we use our oceans.
University of Western Australia (UWA) researcher Asha McNeill is hoping to turn the tide on our understanding of recreational fishing behaviors, by running a survey on the subject for her PhD.
“We’re interested in general fishing habits, questions like how often do you go fishing, where do you go fishing, what type of fishing do you like to do?” Ms McNeill said.
“Also why you like to go fishing, and fishers’ views on how we manage their activities.”
Ms McNeill, whose background is in marine biology, said often when it came to managing marine ecosystems, the biggest challenge facing scientists and policy-makers is managing people rather than resources.
“When we want to look after marine ecosystems, it’s actually the people we’re managing and not the fish or their habitat,” she said.
“I was really interested in how we can make management of our marine ecosystems more effective and more equitable.”
She hopes to find out recreational fishers’ attitudes towards a range of fisheries managment tools, including closed seasons, bag limits, size limits, and habitat protection areas.
“With such a strong fishing community, I’m sure there are lots of people in Mandurah who would make great candidates for the survey. They really love their fishing.”
Ms McNeill counts a whole variety of activities as ‘fishing’ because under the fisheries act anything, including corals and seagrasses, are considered ‘fish’ in terms of managing harvested marine creatures.
“Lobster, crabs, abalone, obscure fish as well as all your fin fish are included,” she said.
The survey, which Ms McNeill said takes about 15 minutes to complete, is completely anonymous, so participants can answer as honestly as they like.
“It’s really important that I get a diversity of view, there’s no right or wrong answers at all… we can’t tell who it’s come from, but it’s all really valid,” she said.
Ms McNeill hopes to have her research published in the scientific literature, where it can be used to inform management agencies on future policy decisions around recreational fishing.
The survey is available here, and is made up mostly of multiple choice questions, with some space available to give more extensive feedback.
Those who complete it before February 26 will go into a prize draw for a $500 pre-paid credit card.
