The Role of Recreational Fishing in Global Fish Crises

Abstract Exploitation of fishery resources has become a major conservation issue on a global scale. Commercial fisheries have been repeatedly blamed for the worldwide declines in fish populations. However, we contend that the recreational fishing sector also has the potential to negatively affect fish and fisheries. Here we present evidence to show that both recreational and commercial fishing sectors deserve consideration as contributors to the exploitation of fish in marine and inland waters. The lack of global monitoring and compiling of statistics on recreational fishing participation, harvest, and catch-and-release has retarded our ability to understand the magnitude of this fishing sector. Using data…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Commerce
• NS
  Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada