RECREATIONAL anglers are doing more damage to some marine fish stocks off the US coast than commercial fishing boats. They are taking a particularly heavy toll on threatened species for which commercial fishing is already restricted.
The finding may come as a surprise to many, because each commercial boat catches far more fish than any amateur could. But over 10 million people fish recreationally in US waters, says marine biologist Larry Crowder of Duke University in Beaufort, North Carolina. And their combined catch adds up.
Recreational fishing accounts for 64 per cent of the reported catch of overfished species along the Gulf of Mexico and 59 per cent along the Pacific coast, a study by Crowder and his colleagues has found. Overall, they take 23 per cent of all over-exploited marine fish species.
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Recreational anglers have an even greater impact on stocks of already depleted fish. In 2002, they landed 93 per cent of all red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) caught in waters between North Carolina and Florida, 87 per cent of the bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinus) caught in the Pacific, and 59 per cent of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) caught in the Gulf (Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1100397). The bocaccio population is so depleted that scientists are considering whether to list it as an endangered species.
Sport fishing groups widely quote the figure that just 2 per cent of all marine fish are landed by recreational anglers, an estimate based on data collected by the National Marine Fisheries Service. A cursory analysis of government data posted on the web could yield that low estimate, says Felicia Coleman of Florida State University in Tallahassee, who co-authored the new study, which also examined the government data. Yet the fisheries service itself warns that the raw numbers can be misleading, as the data for recreational catches of overfished populations tends to get lumped together with that of large, sustainable fisheries for species such as pollock and menhaden, masking the true impact that anglers have on threatened stocks.
Fish species hardest hit by sport fishing tend to be top predators, which are larger and longer-lived than other fish, says Crowder. Big fish are considered the best sport, so they are prime targets. Bans on landing the most endangered fish don鈥檛 protect them from being caught by mistake. In a survey of the Gulf of Mexico, Coleman spotted one protected fish, a goliath grouper weighing nearly 200 kilograms, with 20 hooks embedded in its mouth, probably from being caught and released repeatedly. Fisheries managers encourage catch-and-release programmes for sport fishing, but it is unclear how many fish survive being caught.
Professional fishermen have developed a thriving sideline using their expertise and high-tech fish-finding equipment to help amateurs catch more fish than would otherwise be possible. When that adds up to a recreational fishery that catches 80 per cent of the fish, says Crowder, 鈥測ou can鈥檛 just constrain commercial fishing鈥�.
Michael Sissenwine, director of scientific programmes at the National Marine Fisheries Service, says the government is aware of the impact that recreational anglers have. His agency has limited both recreational and commercial fishing to aid the recovery of overfished species.
But present limits on how many fish an angler can take each day do not control the damage because too many people are fishing, Coleman told New 杏吧原创. She thinks the number of amateur fishers has to be restricted further. 鈥淢aybe they鈥檙e not going to be happy with the results [of the survey], but the results are what they are.鈥�