Recreational Fisheries Management

Resource management agencies are charged with the stewardship of recreational fisheries. Their work includes monitoring fish populations, stocking fish to create more opportunities, improving habitat, providing infrastructure to increase access to fishing sites, and setting and enforcing fishing regulations. As agencies seek to meet the needs of recreational anglers, social science research provides essential information on anglers preferences and values, indicating the types of management actions that are most desired.

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My research supports fisheries management by addressing the following questions: What are the most important values and benefits that recreational anglers derive from their fishing experiences? How can resource managers align decisions with angler needs and sustain the value of recreational fisheries for future generations? I employ a variety of methods, including mixed-mode surveys, stated choice analyses, and economic analyses. Results from these projects have shown that:

• Fishing scenario preferences are influenced by angler values and vary by fishing mode (boat versus shoreline) and angler age (Golebie et al. 2024. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences)

• Quality of fish habitat and availability of boat washing stations were the most important factors informing hypothetical fishing site decisions (Joffe-Nelson et al. 2023. Journal of Great Lakes Research)

• Angler perceptions of fish populations and preferences for management vary by their level of specialization ​(Golebie et al. 2020. Human Dimensions of Wildlife)

• The Lake Michigan fisheries in Illinois and Indiana contributed a total economic impact of $44 million in 2015 (2017 Technical Report)

• The satisfaction of Illinois and Indiana Lake Michigan anglers was most dependent on perceptions of the number of fish biting (Golebie 2017. Master's Thesis)

• Lakeshore development in Wisconsin lakes is likely to result in dependency on stocking (Ziegler et al. 2017. Ecological Applications)

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This research has been conducted with the Human Dimensions Research Program and Lake Michigan Biological Station at the Illinois Natural History Survey, the van Riper Research Group at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center. Funding has been provided by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.