{"title":"The state of Louisiana’s freshwater commercial fishery: a study of fishermen’s attitudes towards fishing and their future","authors":"Lauren Bonatakis, Tiffany Pasco, Julie A. Lively","doi":"10.1007/s40152-024-00384-y","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>As an important contributor to Louisiana’s economy, the commercial freshwater fisheries have been the subject of growing attention in recent years by resource managers as the industry appears to be on the brink of collapse. Fewer participants are entering the field, fish buyers and processors are closing, and market prices remain stagnant. To better understand this industry, we conducted a study to characterize the commercial freshwater fisheries in Louisiana including the fishermen, the fishing operations, the effort across the state, local knowledge on management issue and barriers and opportunities for the future of the industry. We completed structured interviews at fish houses across Louisiana. The average full-time fisherman was 56 years old with about 34 years of commercial fishing experience, and catfish (<i>Ictaluridae</i> spp.) and buffalo (<i>Ictobius</i> spp.) appear to be the most sought-after finfish; however, this slightly differs by region. Overall, this study provides in-depth insight into the trends, problems, and successes of Louisiana’s freshwater commercial fisheries. This information will allow managers and other groups like cooperative extension to identify and design opportunities for the industry and utilize their information in management across the state.</p>","PeriodicalId":45628,"journal":{"name":"Maritime Studies","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Maritime Studies","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-024-00384-y","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
As an important contributor to Louisiana’s economy, the commercial freshwater fisheries have been the subject of growing attention in recent years by resource managers as the industry appears to be on the brink of collapse. Fewer participants are entering the field, fish buyers and processors are closing, and market prices remain stagnant. To better understand this industry, we conducted a study to characterize the commercial freshwater fisheries in Louisiana including the fishermen, the fishing operations, the effort across the state, local knowledge on management issue and barriers and opportunities for the future of the industry. We completed structured interviews at fish houses across Louisiana. The average full-time fisherman was 56 years old with about 34 years of commercial fishing experience, and catfish (Ictaluridae spp.) and buffalo (Ictobius spp.) appear to be the most sought-after finfish; however, this slightly differs by region. Overall, this study provides in-depth insight into the trends, problems, and successes of Louisiana’s freshwater commercial fisheries. This information will allow managers and other groups like cooperative extension to identify and design opportunities for the industry and utilize their information in management across the state.
期刊介绍:
Maritime Studies is an international peer-reviewed journal on the social dimensions of coastal and marine issues throughout the world. The journal is a venue for theoretical and empirical research relevant to a wide range of academic social science disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, geography, history and political science. Space is especially given to develop academic concepts and debate. We invite original research papers, reviews and viewpoints and welcome proposals for special issues that make a distinctive contribution to contemporary discussion around maritime and coastal use, development and governance. The journal provides a rigorous but constructive review process and rapid publication, and is accessible to new researchers, including postgraduate students and early career academics.