Sport Fishing Puts Bite on U.S. Fish Stocks, Study Says

Coleman points to the Gulf of Mexico as an example. Here, she says, the removal of larger reef fish like grouper and snapper has led to a population boom in prey species, such as grunts.

The study also highlights recent advances in technology that can make anglers as effective as their commercial counterparts. High-tech "fish finders" use sonar and global positioning systems (GPS) to locate shoals and can even pinpoint individual fish.

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The report's findings might surprise many U.S. anglers, given that the country has led the way in introducing conservation measures to marine sport fishing. These include state licenses, seasonal angling restrictions, catch-and-release rules, and bag limits.

The American Sport Fishing Association adds that taxes imposed on fishing tackle and boat fuel, when combined with license revenues, result in a pot of nearly U.S. $1 billion being returned to states each year for conservation work.

Coleman accepts that measures are in place that aim to prevent unsustainable exploitation of fish stocks. Many states issue mandatory licenses that put limits on the number and size of fish each angler can bring in, but she says there are simply too many anglers for this to work.

"The recreational fisher has a daily quota, but the number of recreational fishers given that quota is essentially unlimited," Coleman said.

Commercial Quotas

By contrast, she says commercial fisheries have an annual quota, and when it is reached the fishery is closed for the year.

The researchers suggest the way to tackle overfishing is to cap the number of licenses issued. Coleman says such a system, if introduced nationally, could decrease the cumulative impact of recreational fishing.

Sea anglers have come under similar scrutiny in many other countries. In South Africa, for instance, tight catch restrictions have been imposed on anglers after hook-and-line fishing was implicated in the population collapse of at least 20 species.

In the U.K, where until now sea anglers have faced little regulatory interference from government, proposals are being considered for a 22-pound ($ U.S. $40) annual license in England and Wales.

The revenue would help fund inshore fisheries management in areas where stocks of popular recreational rod-and-line species, such as cod and sea bass, have crashed in recent decades.

However, sea anglers aren't to blame for dwindling stocks, claims David Rowe, development officer for the National Federation of Sea Anglers, in Devon, England. "We try to carry out our sport in a sustainable manner," he said. "That's why the majority of angling is increasingly done on a catch-and-return basis, and an angler would generally take one or two fish at most."

Rowe blames overexploitation by commercial fisheries for diminishing rod catch returns among his members.

On the new license proposals, he queries why any angler should be prepared to buy one.

"Currently the needs of recreational sea anglers are not taken into account in the management of these fisheries, and there are very few fish inshore for us to catch," he said.

This sentiment is echoed elsewhere, as Carl Safina, who also contributed to the new study, admits. Safina is president of the Blue Ocean Institute, a marine conservation nonprofit based in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. He added, "There's little use in commercial and recreational fishers pointing fingers at each other.

"Commercial fishing is not all bad, and recreational fishing is not all good. A fish doesn't care if you are a commercial or recreational fisherman. It only cares if it is surrounded by water—or on ice."

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