Commercial and recreational fisher participation in marine fisheries management decision-making

Abstract

Public participation in decision-making is increasingly recognized as a pillar of marine fisheries reform, credited with improving the legitimacy of management systems and contributing to the long-term sustainability of fish stocks. However, participatory approaches have been incorporated into management systems more quickly than research has been conducted into their functionality. Globally, it is uncertain whether common mechanisms for public participation in decision-making facilitate participation that meets stated goals or commitments. Using a case study in North Carolina, USA, we conducted a large-scale survey of commercial and recreational fishers to quantify levels of participation in decision-making and examine factors influencing participation across both groups. Participation was infrequent among both samples, with respondents participating less often than once every few years, on average. Commercial fishers participated more often and were more highly motivated to participate than recreational fishers. Factors influencing participation in decision-making were nuanced, with stakeholder understanding of the management system emerging as the only factor significantly, positively correlated to participation for both samples. Among commercial fishers, membership in a fishing organization also emerged as a significant positive predictor of participation, though fewer than half of commercial fishers belonged to a fishing organization. These findings identify gaps in stakeholder participation in decision-making and provide fisheries managers with baseline information needed to increase participation for two key stakeholder groups. Our evaluation provides managers with a framework to evaluate participation in other contexts, which is needed to assess progress made toward stated goals for stakeholder participation.