In the absence of formal insurance, fishers often ”self-insure” against financial risk due to environmental and economic factors by adjusting fishing activities over species, space, and time. This diversification can be effective (e.g., Kasperski and Holland, 2013; Cline, Schindler, and Hilborn, 2017; Sethi, Dalton, and Hilborn, 2012; Fuller et al.,...
Commercial fisheries rationalization has promoted economic benefits and accountability to annual catch limits, but most recreational fisheries are managed under regulated open access with relatively poor catch accounting, short and unpredictable seasons, and persistent overharvests. For many mixed-used fish species, recreational fishing represents over half of total fishing mortality. Yet...
Recreational fishing for popular species like red snapper and grouper in the Gulf of Mexico follows a pattern that is well known in commercial fisheries: fishing under regulated open access promotes short, unpredictable seasons, shrinking bag limits, and large and persistent overharvests. With federal fishing seasons at all-time lows and...
Recreational fishing for popular species like red snapper and grouper in the Gulf of Mexico has followed a familiar pattern to that observed in many commercial fisheries: fishing under regulated open access has promoted a “race to the fish” with cascades of shorter seasons, shrinking bag limits, and significant fishery...
Fisheries sustainability is a much sought-after goal. Yet, “sustainability” is often too ambiguously defined to be of much practical guidance to policymakers. Furthermore, fisheries managers are increasingly expected to assess and manage fisheries in an “ecosystem-based” manner – accounting for the ecological interdependencies of species and their coupling with the...