Chan Maggie N, Beaudreau Anne H, Loring Philip A
College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Juneau, Alaska, United States of America.
School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
PLoS One. 2017 Jun 20;12(6):e0179584. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179584. eCollection 2017.
Understanding the impacts of recreational fishing on habitats and species, as well as the social and ecological importance of place to anglers, requires information on the spatial distribution of fishing activities. This study documented long-term changes in core fishing areas of a major recreational fishery in Alaska and identified biological, regulatory, social, and economic drivers of spatial fishing patterns by charter operators. Using participatory mapping and in-person interviews, we characterized the spatial footprint of 46 charter operators in the communities of Sitka and Homer since the 1990s. The spatial footprint differed between Homer and Sitka respondents, with Homer operators consistently using larger areas for Pacific halibut than Sitka operators. Homer and Sitka showed opposite trends in core fishing location area over time, with an overall decrease in Homer and an overall increase in Sitka. For both Sitka and Homer respondents, the range of areas fished was greater for Pacific halibut than for rockfish/lingcod or Pacific salmon. Spatial patterns were qualitatively different between businesses specializing in single species trips and those that operated multispecies trips and between businesses with one vessel and those with multiple vessels. In Homer, the most frequently cited reasons for changes in the location and/or extent of fishing were changes in trip type and the price of fuel, while in Sitka, the most frequently cited reasons for spatial shifts were changes to Pacific halibut regulations and gaining experience or exploring new locations. The diversity of charter fishing strategies in Alaska may allow individual charter operators to respond differently to perturbations and thus maintain resilience of the industry as a whole to social, environmental, and regulatory change. This research also highlights the importance of understanding fishers' diverse portfolio of activities to effective ecosystem-based management.
了解休闲捕鱼对栖息地和物种的影响，以及场所对垂钓者的社会和生态重要性，需要有关捕鱼活动空间分布的信息。本研究记录了阿拉斯加一个主要休闲渔业核心捕鱼区域的长期变化，并确定了包船经营者空间捕鱼模式的生物、监管、社会和经济驱动因素。通过参与式绘图和面对面访谈，我们描绘了自20世纪90年代以来锡特卡和荷马社区46家包船经营者的空间足迹。荷马和锡特卡的受访者的空间足迹有所不同，荷马的经营者在捕捞太平洋大比目鱼时使用的区域一直比锡特卡的经营者大。随着时间的推移，荷马和锡特卡的核心捕鱼位置区域呈现出相反的趋势，荷马总体上减少，而锡特卡总体上增加。对于锡特卡和荷马的受访者来说，太平洋大比目鱼的捕捞区域范围比岩鱼/太平洋鳕鱼或太平洋鲑鱼的捕捞区域范围更大。专门从事单物种捕捞旅行的企业与从事多物种捕捞旅行的企业之间，以及拥有一艘船的企业与拥有多艘船的企业之间，空间模式在质量上存在差异。在荷马，捕捞位置和/或范围变化最常被提及的原因是旅行类型的变化和燃料价格，而在锡特卡，空间转移最常被提及的原因是太平洋大比目鱼法规的变化以及积累经验或探索新地点。阿拉斯加包船捕鱼策略的多样性可能使个体包船经营者对干扰做出不同反应，从而维持整个行业对社会、环境和监管变化的适应能力。这项研究还强调了了解渔民多样化活动组合对基于生态系统的有效管理的重要性。
