Fisheries Management Decisions Research Articles

Observations, perceptions and concerns of the American lobster industry regarding the range-expansion of Black Sea Bass

Fisheries in the U.S. Northeast are being impacted by the effects of climate change in part due to the range expansion of potential predators and competitors. In the Gulf of Maine, the American lobster (Homarus americanus) fishery has expressed concerns about the range-expansion of Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata). Black Sea Bass occupy similar habitats to lobsters and commonly prey upon decapod crustaceans. However, state independent trawl surveys do not effectively track the Black Sea Bass range expansion, highlighting the value of fishers’ observations and perceptions of this dynamic change. Using a quantitative mixed-mode survey, commercial lobster fishers’ ecological knowledge of Black Sea Bass in the Gulf of Maine was assessed. Fishers noted increasing abundances of Black Sea Bass that coincided with warmer years. Furthermore, the degree to which lobster fishers view that Black Sea Bass will negatively impact the lobster fishery was best predicted by if they think that Black Sea Bass are eating lobsters. This study revealed that fishers are observing the range-expansion and increased prevalence of Black Sea Bass in the waters that they fish for lobsters, which is extremely valuable because it addresses an important gap in our understanding of how climate change is impacting the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. Documenting species range shifts and their potential impacts will benefit ongoing and future fisheries management decisions such as whether efforts to target and remove these species in their newly expanded range should occur.

Does the presence of a pop-up satellite archival tag affect movement of Tanner crab (Chionoecetes bairdi) in an exposed Alaskan bay?

Fluctuating environmental conditions and crab population declines in the Bering Sea have elevated interest in pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) as a tool for investigating changes in crab spatial dynamics. However, PSATs are large relative to crab body sizes and may impact behavior which could limit their utility for informing management and conservation efforts. Accordingly, we tagged adult male Tanner crabs Chionoecetes bairdi with either a small acoustic tag (n = 20) or with both an acoustic tag and PSAT (n = 20) and monitored their movements within an acoustic receiver array in an exposed bay near Kodiak, Alaska. We evaluated several metrics intended to detect any between-group differences in movement or habitat use over the 78-day study. No group differences were observed, likely due to the small hydrodynamic forces acting on the PSAT relative to those acting on the crab. We encourage expanded use of PSATs in future crab research, but efforts should explore species-specific tag effects to help ensure accurate movement information is available for fishery management decisions.

Climate-readiness of fishery management procedures with application to the southeast US Atlantic

Abstract Global climate change threatens the assumption of stationarity inherent in many fisheries management decisions. This heightens the importance of developing management strategies that are robust to future uncertainty. Management strategy evaluation (MSE) is a framework in which management procedures (MPs) can be developed and tested using closed-loop simulation. We explored the performance of various model-based and empirical MPs with nonstationary future projections for three commercially and recreationally important fish stocks in the southeast US Atlantic. Using openMSE, we tested candidate MP performance across projections designed to emulate plausible future conditions, including regime shifts, nonstationarity, and observation error shifts in the survey index. Candidate MP performance was primarily measured based on its ability to maintain a healthy stock biomass. Results of this MSE demonstrate that several empirical MPs may be better able to adapt to regime shifts and nonstationary dynamics compared to traditional model-based MPs that employ full age-structured stock assessments, though empirical MPs struggle to maintain stock biomass when facing artificial index observation error shifts. Relative performance of model-based versus empirical MPs varied by stock and climate-change scenario. These findings highlight the value that adaptive MPs may hold for climate-ready fisheries management.

Mathematical models for sustainable fisheries management in U.S. waters: Balancing economic growth and conservation

Sustainable fisheries management is critical for balancing the dual objectives of economic growth and environmental conservation, particularly in U.S. waters where overfishing, habitat degradation, and fluctuating marine ecosystems pose significant challenges. This review explores the role of mathematical models in addressing these challenges and guiding fisheries management decisions. Various models, including population dynamics, bioeconomic, and ecosystem-based approaches, are examined for their utility in setting sustainable catch limits, assessing stock health, and predicting ecosystem changes. Through case studies of U.S. fisheries, the paper highlights how these models have been implemented within the framework of federal regulations, such as the Magnuson-Stevens Act, to achieve sustainable yields while supporting economic growth. The review also identifies trade-offs between short-term economic gains and long-term conservation goals, emphasizing the need for adaptive management strategies. Finally, it explores emerging innovations in mathematical modeling techniques, such as artificial intelligence, and provides policy recommendations to enhance the integration of these models into sustainable fisheries management. This paper underscores the importance of mathematical models as essential tools in ensuring the future viability of U.S. fisheries, balancing economic prosperity with the preservation of marine ecosystems.

A geospatial web service for small pelagic fish spatial distribution modeling and mapping with remote sensing

Small pelagic fish are an essential resource for coastal countries worldwide and their assessment and monitoring are a key part of successful fisheries management. Advances in marine satellite remote sensing can contribute to the creation of methodologies for continual small pelagic fish spatial distribution monitoring that can act as supplementary tools for fisheries management decision making, enhancing traditional field practices. In this work a comprehensive Geospatial Web Service (GWS) is proposed that utilizes Sentinel-3 data to publish Spatial Distribution Modeling (SDM) maps for anchovy (Engraulis encrasiculous) and sardine (Sardina pilchardus). The proposed GWS is developed through the sole use of open-source programming languages and software and provides fishery management related data through various parameters: A) Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Chlorophyll-a Concentration (CHL), B) mesoscale oceanic fronts and C) the SDM maps for the target species. The SDM results are produced through a Random Forest algorithm and utilized oceanographic parameters relevant to the ecological needs of the target species (CHL, SST, oceanic fronts and bathymetry). All data are processed and gap-free through a spatiotemporal DINEOF interpolation, allowing the continuous provision of information independently of the weather conditions. Furthermore, the service integrates auxiliary information, such as weather and sea state forecasts, that aim to contribute to maritime safety for effective decision-making. The resulting GWS offers an easy to use and interactive tool that bridges the gap between the scientific community and the decision makers. The utilization of satellite remote sensing enhances the scalability of the proposed service for future improvements and continuous monitoring.

Happy families? Insight into the coexistence between the curled octopus (Eledone cirrhosa) and common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) in waters around the UK

AbstractThis case study investigated the co‐occurrence of the curled octopus (Eledone cirrhosa) and common octopus (Octopus vulgaris), in waters around the United Kingdom. The findings suggest that coexistence may be maintained because of the lack of competition for E. cirrhosa against the seemingly declining O. vulgaris populations, and that habitat and temporal partitioning are the likely mechanisms. It is contemplated whether species misidentification may an important factor in masking the accuracy of population dynamics of co‐occurring octopus species, and, as such, potential uncertainty in octopus coexistence and any future fishery management decisions. It is confidently suggested that, currently, only two octopus species are resident to UK waters. Now, further studies should include diet partitioning to determine whether diet partitioning is a mechanism for E. cirrhosa and O. vulgaris coexistence, and monitoring may make us understand their population dynamics.

Collaboration and engagement with decision-makers are needed to reduce evidence complacency in wildlife management.

There exists an extensive, diverse, and robust evidence base to support complex decisions that address the planetary biodiversity crisis. However, it is generally not sought or used by environmental decision-makers, who instead draw on intuition, experience, or opinion to inform important decisions. Thus, there is a need to examine evidence exchange processes in wildlife management to understand the multiple inputs to decisions. Here, we adopt a novel approach, fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM), to examine perceptions of individuals from Indigenous and Western governments on the reliability of evidence which may influence freshwater fisheries management decisions in British Columbia, Canada. We facilitated four FCM workshops participants representing Indigenous or Western regulatory/governance groups of fisheries managers. Our results show that flows of evidence to decision-makers occur within a relatively closed governance network, constrained to the few well-connected decision-making organizations (i.e., wildlife management agencies) and their close partners. This implies that increased collaboration (i.e., knowledge co-production) and engagement (i.e., knowledge brokerage) with wildlife managers and decision-makers are needed to produce actionable evidence and increase evidence exchange.

A novel statistical approach to deal with spatial bias in maturity ogive estimation

The proportion of mature fish at length is one of the most important population attributes when evaluating reproductive potential for fish stock assessment purposes. Bias in maturity ogive parameters can lead to fishery management decisions based on misspecified biological reference points. These parameters can vary spatially and temporally, and this variability should be understood and included in the assessment models. However, integrating this variability becomes challenging when specific spatial-dependent ogives cannot be used in the stock assessment model. Hence, this study proposes a novel use of a multivariate response Bayesian regression model, employing an integrated nested Laplace approximation to estimate a single global maturity ogive using data from various spatial areas. This model explicitly accounts for differences in the sampling process and combines information from different areas to estimate shared maturity ogive parameters using joint-likelihood procedures. The model is applied to the European hake stock in ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) Divisions 27.8.c and 27.9.a, serving as a practical guide. In this model, we have considered different predictors to handle the relationship between the probability of being mature and the length and year covariates. Our results suggest that the logistic formulation correctly captures the relationship between the probability of being mature and length. For year variability, including a year factor covariate or year random effect in the predictor model produces similar values of goodness of fit measures.

Social-ecological vulnerability and risk of China's marine capture fisheries to climate change.

Climate change is a new disrupter to global fisheries systems and their governance frameworks. It poses a pressing management challenge, particularly in China, which is renowned as the world's largest fishing country and seafood producer. As climate change continues to intensify in the region and climate awareness grows within the country's national policy, the need to understand China's fisheries' resilience to the escalating climate crisis becomes paramount. In this study, we conduct an interdisciplinary analysis to assess the vulnerability and risk of China's marine capture fisheries in response to climate change. This study employs a spatially explicit, indicator-based approach with a coupled social-ecological framework, focusing on 67 species and 11 coastal regions. By integrating diverse sets of climatic, ecological, economic, societal, and governance indicators and information, we elucidate the factors that could hinder climate adaptation, including a limited understanding of fish early life stages, uncertainty in seafood production, unequal allocation and accessibility of resources, and inadequate consideration of inclusive governance and adaptive management. Our results show that species, which have managed to survive the stress of overfishing, demonstrate a remarkable ability to adapt to climate change. However, collapsing stocks such as large yellow croaker face a high risk due to the synergistic effects of inherent biological traits and external management interventions. We emphasize the imperative to build institutional, scientific, and social capacity to support fisheries adaptation. The scientific insights provided by this study can inform fisheries management decisions and promote the operationalization of climate-resilient fisheries in China and other regions.

Histopathological investigation of four populations of abalone (Haliotis iris) exhibiting divergent growth performance

The black-foot abalone (pāua), Haliotis iris, is a unique and valuable species to New Zealand with cultural importance for Māori. Abalone are marine gastropods that can display a high level of phenotypic variation, including slow-growing or ‘stunted’ variants. This investigation focused on identifying factors that are associated with growth performance, with particular interest in the slow-growing variants. Tissue alterations in H. iris were examined using histopathological techniques, in relation to growth performance, contrasting populations classified by commercial harvesters as ‘stunted’ (i.e., slow-growing) and ‘non-stunted’ (i.e., fast-growing) from four sites around the Chatham Islands (New Zealand). Ten adults and 10 sub-adults were collected from each of the four sites and prepared for histological assessment of condition, tissue alterations, presence of food and presence of parasites. The gut epithelium connective tissue, digestive gland, gill lamellae and right kidney tissues all displayed signs of structural differences between the slow-growing and fast-growing populations. Overall, several factors appear to be correlated to growth performance. The individuals from slow-growing populations were observed to have more degraded macroalgal fragments in the midgut, increased numbers of ceroid granules in multiple tissues, as well as increased prevalence of birefringent mineral crystals and haplosporidian-like parasites in the right kidney. The histopathological approaches presented here complement anecdotal field observations of reduced seaweed availability and increased sand incursion at slow-growing sites, while providing an insight into the health of individual abalone and sub-populations. The approaches described here will ultimately help elucidate the drivers behind variable growth performance which, in turn, supports fisheries management decisions and future surveillance programs.

Health of wild fish exposed to contaminants of emerging concern in freshwater ecosystems utilized by a Minnesota Tribal community.

Fish serve as indicators of exposure to contaminants of emerging concern (CECs)-chemicals such as pharmaceuticals, hormones, and personal care products-which are often designed to impact vertebrates. To investigate fish health and CECs in situ, we evaluated the health of wild fish exposed to CECs in waterbodies across northeastern Minnesota with varying anthropogenic pressures and CEC exposures: waterbodies with no human development along their shorelines, those with development, and those directly receiving treated wastewater effluent. Then, we compared three approaches to evaluate the health of fish exposed to CECs in their natural environment: a refined fish health assessment index, a histopathological index, and high-throughput (ToxCast) in vitro assays. Lastly, we mapped adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) associated with identified ToxCast assays to determine potential impacts across levels of biological organization within the aquatic system. These approaches were applied to subsistence fish collected from the Grand Portage Indian Reservation and 1854 Ceded Territory in 2017 and 2019. Overall, 24 CECs were detected in fish tissues, with all but one of the sites having at least one detection. The combined implementation of these tools revealed that subsistence fish exposed to CECs had histological and macroscopic tissue and organ abnormalities, although a direct causal link could not be established. The health of fish in undeveloped sites was as poor, or sometimes poorer, than fish in developed and wastewater effluent-impacted sites based on gross and histologic tissue lesions. Adverse outcome pathways revealed potential hazardous pathways of individual CECs to fish. A better understanding of how the health of wild fish harvested for consumption is affected by CECs may help prioritize risk management research efforts and can ultimately be used to guide fisherymanagement and public health decisions. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:846-863. © 2023 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Linking knowledge and action for climate-ready fisheries: Emerging best practices across the US

Despite progress in understanding and predicting climate change impacts and possible responses for US marine fisheries, use of climate-related information in federal fishery management decisions remains limited. One barrier to progress in linking climate knowledge to management action is that individual management bodies’ efforts tend to be isolated, with few opportunities to coordinate or communicate about successes and shared challenges. To promote cross-regional learning, we distill eight best practices from emerging climate-focused efforts, drawn from a collaborative workshop, literature, and authors’ experiences. We conceptualize these best practices as interrelated—and incomplete—pieces of a knowledge-to-action “puzzle” that could be adopted based on regional context. One best practice, mapping out management processes and structure to identify “on-ramps” for climate information (3.1), represents a foundational centerpiece that enables other best practices. Three practices apply primarily to internal management processes: frame climate initiatives within existing management mandates and processes (3.2); strategically incorporate qualitative information to deal with uncertainty (3.3); and pilot initiatives with healthy or lower-risk stocks (3.4). Another set pertains to efforts that include broader stakeholders: engage stakeholders early and often (3.5), emphasize local priorities (3.6), employ structured processes to keep initiatives on track (3.7), and leverage collaborative research to build trust and overcome capacity constraints (3.8). We highlight emerging initiatives that demonstrate how these practices were implemented, discuss continued challenges, and identify opportunities where these practices could be expanded in support of climate-ready fisheries.

Integrating habitat features into spatio-temporal biomass dynamics models for a better understanding of stock productivity: a case study of sea scallop in the Bay of Fundy

Abstract Recent efforts in ocean mapping of seafloor habitat have made data increasingly available. For bottom-dwelling and/or sessile species, there is often a strong relationship between population productivity and habitat, and stock assessment models are likely to be improved by the inclusion of habitat. Here, we extend a recently developed spatio-temporal biomass dynamics model to allow habitat to inform probabilities of non-zero tows and catchability. Simulation experiments demonstrate the ability of this new approach to reliably capture population trends over time and space, with the applicability of the method further demonstrated using data from the Canadian Maritimes Inshore Sea Scallop Fishery in the Bay of Fundy. This habitat-informed spatio-temporal biomass dynamics model better captures underlying processes, reduces uncertainty, thereby improving our understanding of stock status from which fisheries management decisions can be based.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) applications in freshwater fisheries management and conservation in Canada: overview of current challenges and opportunities

Environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring methods have played a significant role in improving fisheries management decisions. Yet, their impact to date has been rather limited in Canada, where eDNA sampling and analyses are only beginning to be used to inform management and conservation decisions, practices, and policies. Studies investigating hurdles to the incorporation of eDNA evidence into fisheries management decisions generally focus on technical challenges (i.e., risks of false-positive and false-negative detections). We set out to identify challenges that eDNA researchers and conservation practitioners must overcome to fully unlock the benefits of eDNA sampling for fish management in the Canadian context. We discuss aspects of the broad and heterogeneous geography, preponderance of regions located far from densely populated areas, complex political landscape, and cultural diversity of Canada that may complicate the design of reliable eDNA monitoring tools or restrict their use if not adequately addressed. To advocate for the wider use of eDNA sampling, we outline a number of action items that would facilitate the broad adoption of eDNA sampling as a monitoring tool at the Canadian scale.

Look who’s talking: contributions to evidence-based decision making for commercial fisheries in Atlantic Canada

Fisheries are complex social–ecological systems, meaning that the achievement of 'sustainable' fisheries demands a multifaceted approach, involving ecological, economic, social, and institutional dimensions. Addressing these diverse concerns requires the collection and synthesis of new sources of information by science-advising bodies and the engagement of multiple knowledge types from rightsholders and stakeholders. The 'modernized' (2019) Fisheries Act in Canada allows for a diverse range of considerations to form the basis of fisheries management decisions, including knowledge from community or industry groups, but it remains unclear where and when such information is available, how this information is prioritized, who contributes to information-gathering processes, and what the management consequences of information use might be. The present study uses a selection of science-advising documents and briefing notes for decision makers to explore the information and priorities informing fisheries management decisions in Atlantic Canada, with a focus on how rightsholders and stakeholders contribute to the process. These findings can inform efforts to adopt an inclusive and participatory approach to evidence-based decision making to achieve sustainable fisheries, in the broadest sense of the word.

Commercial fisher perceptions illuminate a need for social justice considerations in navigating climate change impacts on fisheries systems

Climate change will amplify stress on marine systems already challenged by conflicts and inequities relating to fisheries access, management decisions, and ocean uses across sectors. Understanding how those most connected to fisheries perceive the risks associated with climate change is critical to developing effective responses and establishing management priorities. Adaptation planning efforts may be hindered by perceptions of unequal or unfair distribution of resources and the processes in place to manage them. In contrast, adaptation planning that is more inclusive, transparent, and addresses social dimensions and perceptions of fisheries is more likely to garner support from fishers and fishing communities broadly. We elicited fisher perceptions of climate change impacts on fisheries, and responses to these impacts, through an online survey of commercial fishers in Canada’s Pacific region. The survey highlights substantial concern for climate change, the impacts it will have on fishers’ livelihoods and well-being, and some of the key challenges that may interfere with the ability of fishers and fisheries management to adapt. We frame the findings of the survey drawing from concepts of social justice, focusing on distributive and procedural justice, as necessary considerations, and context for climate change adaptation planning. Developing plans and processes to respond to climate change impacts on fisheries requires not only understanding ecological impacts and challenges, but also the social and institutional considerations that could help or hinder efforts to respond effectively and equitably to a changing ocean.

Assessment of data‐limited fisheries: A case study of three finfish species in Chilika lagoon, India

AbstractInland capture fisheries in many parts of the world, especially in developing nations, receive relatively low governance priority, thereby raising concerns about their sustainability. Consequently, most inland capture fisheries are data‐limited, which renders conventional capture fisheries assessment methods inapplicable for making science‐based monitoring and management decisions. Three recent data‐limited approaches for marine fish stock assessments using length frequency and catch data (Length‐Based Indicators [LBI], Growth‐Type Groups Length‐Based Spawning Potential Ratio [GTG‐LBSPR] and Catch Maximum Sustainable Yield [CMSY]), were explored for applicability to assess stock status of three commercially exploited finfish species, Daysciaena albida, Eleutheronema tetradactylum and Mugil cephalus, in Chilika lagoon, an inland water body along the east coast of India. The LBI and GTG‐LBSPR approaches are based on catch length‐frequency data, while the CMSY is based on catch‐only data. The LBI provided insight into current exploitation status of the three species in relation to sustainable fishing, the GTG‐LBSPR provided reference points (RP) for the unfished portion of spawning biomass and relative yield in relation to selectivity, and the CMSY provided RPs for MSY, biomass and fishing pressure that yield MSY, to assess stock status and fishery management decisions. All three approaches suggested that the three species were overfished in terms of catch length and quantity, which agreed with expert knowledge of the fishery in the lagoon. All three approaches can support management and policy decisions in inland fisheries and fishery management recommendations. Future research should explore and standardise such approaches to overcome data limitations in assessing and managing inland capture fisheries.

Understanding factors influencing Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) recruitment: From egg deposition to juveniles

AbstractRecruitment is a critical component of population dynamics and variability in recruitment underpins large fluctuations in population abundances of commercially valuable marine fishes. Marine pelagic fishes such as Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) experience relatively high variability in recruitment that is driven by a wide range of biotic and abiotic factors. The relative importance and interaction of each factor for determining recruitment is poorly understood, and consequently, recruitment estimates are one of the largest uncertainties in fisheries management and predictions of future population sizes. Poor recruitment of Atlantic herring has been identified as a major issue and bottleneck for the species; therefore, factors influencing successful recruitment are of great interest to fisheries managers. Here we review studies that have examined the factors influencing survival at the egg stage, early larval stage, late larval stage, and juvenile stage to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the recruitment of Atlantic herring and provide recommendations to guide future research. We identified nine biotic and eight abiotic factors that have been found to substantially impact the recruitment of Atlantic herring, with temperature, prey availability, and predation being the most commonly investigated factors. We conclude it is not one factor that primarily determines recruitment, but rather a collection of many factors that vary temporally and spatially that drive the large variation observed in Atlantic herring recruitment year over year. A holistic approach is required to better understand recruitment and improve fisheries management decisions regarding Atlantic herring.

Use of management strategy evaluation to understand the value of citizen science in managing an iconic California recreational fishery

Data-limited fisheries present significant challenges to fisheries management around the world. Landings data represent the simplest and most common source of fishery information, but length data of harvested species can offer particularly useful insight into the strength of fishing pressure and the status of stocks. However, unbiased length data can be difficult and costly to collect, which highlights a need for understanding the utility of non-conventional data collection programs, such as those generated by community members and citizen science programs to improve management decision-making. In this study, our objective was to understand the value of citizen science for management using the iconic California recreational red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) dive fishery. To accomplish this, we employed management strategy evaluation (MSE) to simulate this benthic invertebrate fishery that was sampled by two different fishery independent survey protocols: a community science survey program led by trained volunteers and a professional science survey program led by a state agency. We subjected the data to a range of uncertainties, by including time-varying life history parameters, environmental variability, and effective sample size scenarios, to understand the management level consequences of each survey methodology. Our results show that community science program data collection can serve as a high-quality data source, can be linked directly to fisheries management decisions via a Harvest Control Rule (HCR), and can be a useful information source even in the absence of conventional data sources. Our results are specific to the California red abalone fishery, but they also highlight the potential broader value of community science data collection programs for improving information content of small-scale and recreational fisheries.

Factors contributing to anglers’ satisfaction and their requests concerning recreational salmonid fisheries management: Insights from a questionnaire survey in strictly regulated, catch-and-release stream fishing areas

Regional fisheries managers need to consider anglers’ satisfaction and requests and balance them with resource conservation when making decisions to promote the sustainability of recreational fisheries. However, there is a marked paucity of information on inland recreational fisheries, particularly in non-Western countries. This study was designed to gain insight on the factors contributing to the anglers' satisfaction and their requests concerning salmonid recreational fisheries management. The approach used was a questionnaire survey of salmonid anglers in two strictly regulated, reservation-only, catch-and-release stream fishing areas in Japan. We evaluated the relationships among anglers’ characteristics and the fishing experience with their satisfaction degree. We also investigated the anglers’ requests concerning the use of fishing license proceeds. The catch numbers of the larger masu salmon available in the area (e.g., 20–40 cm standard length) were positively related to the satisfaction degree of anglers. This study confirms the findings on the determinants of anglers’ satisfaction in Western countries, especially concerning avid anglers. The highest priority for using the fishing license proceeds was for enhancing the number of fish and conserving the fish habitats. Surprisingly, enhancing the number of large fish received the lowest priority among the requests. These results suggest that anglers’ requests for recreational fisheries management do not necessarily reflect their preference to catch more and larger fish. Thus, reflecting only the anglers’ requests and discontinuing stocking the special areas with large fish could paradoxically reduce the anglers’ satisfaction. These results strongly point out that understanding the factors contributing to anglers' satisfaction is crucial to avoid misunderstandings and make sounder and more sustainable recreational fisheries management decisions.