Hello, everyone! I have a new paper out in Fisheries Research that may interest some of you.
I analyzed posts on an online discussion forum used by shark anglers in Florida, a method that can reveal the presence of behaviors or attitudes within a population, but not how common those attitudes are. The paper can be found here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016578361730214X A blog post explaining the background issues, including a link to an open access author copy, can be found here: http://www.southernfriedscience.com/background-information-on-our-land-based-shark-fishing-paper/ I found: -Many (a minimum of 389) cases of illegal fishing for protected species, including cases where the anglers themselves knew it was illegal and discussed ways to avoid getting caught or ways to avoid getting in trouble if caught; -The introduction of new laws requiring the release of hammerhead and tiger sharks in Florida had no effect on reported handling or release practices of shark anglers; -Recreational shark anglers in Florida agree that shark populations have declined significantly, but believe that their own practices play no role in this and should not be regulated (i.e., there is a problem, but the problem is someone else, not me); -Land-based anglers (those who fish from a beach or pier instead of a boat) had mixed attitudes towards science and scientists, supported restrictions on commercial fishing in the name of conservation, opposed any restrictions on their own activities, and had negative attitudes towards conservationists despite sharing similar goals; - Land-based shark fishing has the potential to introduce much more stress to sharks as they are dragged over rough terrain while lacking the buoyant support of water, which means that even if sharks are released, they are less likely to survive if handled this way; -Land based anglers self-identify as relatively young, male, and low-income compared to other angler groups, and perceive themselves as having little political power compared to other Florida stakeholders, potentially contributing to lack of buy-in to fishing regulations. -For the last several years, more large (non-Dogfish) sharks in the United States have been killed by recreational anglers than by commercial fishermen Please feel free to share with interested colleagues, and please let me know if you have any questions. Sincerely, -- *David Shiffman, Ph.D. * Marine Conservation Biologist and Science Writer Liber Ero Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, B.C. *e: *[email protected] | *t: *@WhySharksMatter <http://twitter.com/#!/WhySharksMatter> | *b: *Southern Fried Science Blog <http://www.southernfriedscience.com/> | *cv:* *Online CV <http://DavidShiffmanCV.com>*
