To eat or not to eat, coastal sea trout anglers' motivations and perceptions of best practices for catch and release

The wide variety of perspectives and actions of individual anglers contribute greatly to success or failure when adopting and implementing fisheries management tools. Catch-and-release (C&R) is one such tool where success is influenced by both variation in human factors, but also species and fishery specific characteristics. In this study, an intercept survey of 94 sea trout anglers in a C&R dominated fishery on the Swedish island of Gotland investigated motivations to release or retain catches, self-assessment of anglers' own ability to release fish, and their rating of the importance of various factors influencing the successful outcomes of C&R. Retention of catches was most strongly motivated by situations where anglers deemed the fish unlikely to survive, however more than half of anglers acknowledged being unaware of delayed mortality in released fish. The spawning status of an individual fish was the primary motivation for release, particularly among anglers that prefer to keep at least some of their catches. The roles of water temperature, using single, and barbless hooks were scored as significantly less important than other components contributing to the success of a release. Anglers that gave a favourable rating to their ability to release sea trout also gave greater importance to various factors influencing the success of release, reported higher catch per unit effort, and released a greater proportion of their catches. These findings are discussed in the context of bridging knowledge and behavioural gaps around best practices for C&R in this fishery.

Automated summary

The individual actions and perspectives of anglers play a significant role in the success or failure of fisheries management tools, such as catch-and-release. This study conducted a survey of 94 sea trout anglers in a predominantly catch-and-release fishery, investigating their motivations to release or retain catches, self-assessment of their own ability to release fish, and their rating of various factors influencing the success of catch-and-release. The study found that anglers were primarily motivated to retain catches when they believed the fish were unlikely to survive, while the spawning status of individual fish was the main motivation for release. Factors such as water temperature, hook type, and barbless hooks were rated as less important. Anglers who rated their ability to release sea trout favorably also placed greater importance on factors influencing the success of release, reported higher catch rates, and released a higher proportion of their catches.